In 2017, Brent Frei - already a successful tech entrepreneur who co-founded Smartsheet and led Onyx Software - recognized a persistent, costly problem in agriculture that technology had yet to solve. Rock picking remained one of farming's most labor-intensive, dangerous, and inefficient tasks. Farmers spent countless hours manually removing rocks from their fields, risking equipment damage and losing valuable time that could be spent on higher-value farming activities. Frei saw an opportunity to apply his expertise in automation and AI to transform this age-old agricultural challenge.
From that insight, TerraClear was born to deliver end-to-end rock management solutions through the power of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and robotics. The company developed AI-powered rock mapping technology that converts high-resolution imagery into precise maps identifying the size and location of rocks across every acre. Combined with autonomous rock picking equipment and professional services, TerraClear enables farmers to find rocks three times faster and remove them more efficiently, ultimately saving labor, reducing equipment damage risks, and freeing growers to focus on what matters most: producing more food with fewer resources.