Although it may sound like science fiction to some, satellites and artificial intelligence are already helping to grow crops more efficiently, cutting the resources needed to produce food for a growing world population. A company from Alicante, Nax Solutions, operates from its headquarters in San Vicente del Raspeig and monitors more than two million hectares worldwide. Its powerful algorithms have persuaded some of the globe’s largest players in the agri-food sector to join the effort.
Names like Zucarmex, Pantaleon Group, the Brazilian rice producer Ceolin, and Uruguayan caseron are among the company’s growing roster of clients as its footprint expands across continents.
The story began in 2017 when Caleb de Bernardis worked at the University of Alicante on several algorithm development projects with the European Space Agency. He became aware of the wealth of agricultural data available from satellite imagery and the potential of advanced artificial intelligence. Yet no product existed to help farmers and industry players leverage this information. He convinced his brother Aarón and Beatriz Sanchis to join him, and together they seized the opportunity to turn data into actionable insights for farming. They built a team and set the course for a practical, data-driven farming solution.
Founders of the company. Information
“This is not about handing producers raw data. It’s about guiding decisions,” explains Aarón de Bernardis, the current CEO, describing the real value of their technology.
The system integrates satellite imagery and historical data from customers’ crops and industry datasets. It trains tailored models for each client, taking into account crop type, variety, soil characteristics, climate, and other relevant factors. The result is a dynamic, crop-specific AI platform that translates visual data into clear actions for producers and agribusinesses.
Once the AI has learned from ample examples, it processes new images to generate a color map that reveals the current status of each field area, crop health, nutrient needs, and potential disease or pest risks. It can also indicate which zones are reaching optimum ripeness or greenness to help decide harvest order and maximize yield.
More than 100 hectares
Intended for large farming operations, the technology is economically viable only when a minimum scale is reached. The company therefore focused on Latin America as its initial core region, targeting large estates. Uruguay became the first major market, followed by rapid expansion into other countries. A regional team now covers South America from Colombia, Central America from Guatemala, and North America from Mexico. The company also maintains technical and commercial offices in Brazil, a key hub for its future growth.
According to De Bernardis, the founders did not set out to create a startup in the traditional sense. “We expected to run the business like a bakery, buying something for a little and selling it for more,” he says. From day one, the company funded its growth with its own resources. Profits have empowered the three founders to retain full ownership, and today more than 30 people contribute to Nax Solutions.
The new tech sector already employs a sizable share of young talent
The company provides two monitoring cadences: daily and weekly. “Crops with short cycles, such as vegetables, benefit from daily checks, while those with longer cycles can be effectively tracked on a weekly basis,” notes the CEO.
Results vary by parcel, yet the majority of clients see tangible gains. With higher productivity, crops often yield a 5 to 6 percent increase, translating into substantial gains across large holdings. In some cases, cost savings are the primary advantage, shaping a stronger bottom line for farm operations and agribusiness partners.