Agriculture is a thirsty industry, consuming 70% of all fresh water used worldwide . In some countries, like India or Chile, it can be more than 90%.

For Mario Bustamante, who lives in Chile, the problem hits close to home. “Lack of water is a big issue here,” he told TechCrunch.

Bustamante is betting that AI can help slash water use in farms across the world. His startup, Instacrops , was originally founded to deploy internet-of-things (IoT) sensors on farms to warn farmers about damaging frost conditions, but as the hardware became commoditized, the company pivoted to software and water use.

Now, Instacrops is helping 260 farms cut their water use up to 30% while also increasing crop yields by as much as 20%. The company is part of Startup Battlefield , and it will be presenting

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