AgZen

AgZen builds feedback-optimized spraying technology that closes the loop between what leaves the nozzle and what lands on the leaf. The problem it targets is well characterized in application engineering: up to 90% of sprayed product can miss its intended target through drift, bounce-off, or poor coverage. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, AgZen was spun out of MIT Professor Kripa Varanasi's research group - research on droplet-surface interaction and adhesion that began in 2011. The company operates across three continents, with more than 250 dealer locations serving North America, Europe, and Australia.

RealCoverage is the sensing and control side of the system. Dual cameras mounted on standard sprayers image spray deposition at the leaf level and stream real-time, in-cab visualization of where droplets actually land. AI-driven recommendations translate that measurement into operator-set parameters - nozzle selection, spray pressure, boom height, and driving speed - so coverage can be adjusted during the pass rather than assessed after the fact. Reported field results are 30–50% reductions in chemical and water usage with no loss of crop protection efficacy. The hardware/software boundary matters here: the imaging and inference run against existing sprayer platforms, so the deployment problem is retrofit integration and reliable measurement under field conditions (variable light, dust, speed, and canopy geometry) rather than a purpose-built machine.

EnhanceCoverage addresses the adhesion problem from the fluid side. It is nozzle technology that cloaks droplets with adjuvants, increasing the probability that a droplet sticks to the plant surface instead of bouncing off - a surface-science intervention that complements the measurement layer. The technical stack spans fluid dynamics, surface science, computer vision, and real-time visualization, and the work draws on more than a decade of preceding MIT research. AgZen has raised $13.5M and frames its mission as ensuring every droplet sprayed counts, with reduced chemical and water use as the sustainability outcome of better targeting rather than a separate objective.