Centaur Analytics Inc. (Centaur), was founded in 2014 by serial tech entrepreneur Sotiris Bantas (previously cofounder and CTO of Helic, acquired by Ansys) and industry veteran Vasilis Sotiroudas. Today, Centaur is making headway in redefining post-harvest AgTech. With our planet’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, we are wasting about 1 Trillion US dollars of crop value to spoilage and improper storage methods. To prevent spoilage and eliminate pests, we use chemicals. But this is often done without method, and with little thought as to sustainability and effect on the environment.

Centaur is the first company to provide predictive analytics that one can trust across various storage configurations, crops and geographies. What Centaur offers is the holy grail of postharvest quality management, it is no coincidence that such a solution has not been in place so far. Centaur’s industry-first, internet-connected, proprietary sensors bring to light a broad spectrum of measurements, ranging from generic conditions, like temperature, humidity and CO2, to the concentration of specialised chemicals, like phosphine and ethylene. A wealth of such data enables Centaur Analytics’ proprietary computational models to provide unprecedented insights and guidance to farmers, transporters, and buyers alike.

Hundreds of Centaur’s sensors are currently monitoring crops from grains to tobacco to fruits to nuts across a dozen countries and five continents. Users and customers extend from leading grain buyers and flour mills to tobacco majors to logistics providers to pest control companies. Detecting spoilage events months in advance and eliminating reinfestation risk used to be a far-fetched vision; it is now becoming a reality.

Centaur started with two employees in 2014 and now has a team of highly skilled engineers and other scientists of twenty-seven people. Its solution is adopted by numerous major brand names in the food industry across five continents. Centaur also has strategic partnerships with academic institutions like the University of Thessaly in Volos and the University in Dresden in Germany, assisting in developing Precision Fumigation™ technology resulting in minimal food loss. Moreover our partnerships extend to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which trusts our data to base its research on reducing grain spoilage.

From the field to the family table and all points in between, Centaur’s sensors and cloudbased technology put the power to prevent spoilage in the palm of your hand. With equal parts of engineering and imagination, we are providing food abundance and safety!