How Orbem combats chick shredding by means of artificial intelligence

With their company Orbem, Maria Laparidou, Pedro Gómez and Miguel Molina Romero want to solve mankind’s biggest problems and show how Orbem is using artificial intelligence to combat chick shredding. It’s sad but true: male hens don’t lay eggs and produce less meat – which is why, according to the EU Commission, up to 330 million male baby chicks are killed in the EU every year immediately after hatching. gate alumnus Orbem develops an AI-based MRI scanning solution that is designed to be affordable for everyone.

In less than one second, Orbem determines the sex of a chicken embryo utilizing its AI-based MRI-technology. This rapid imaging process helps to reduce the number of male chicks killed. According to the company, more than 40 million eggs have been successfully scanned and examined to date.

The founders Pedro, Maria and Miguel are pursuing the vision of making this technology accessible to all industries. This includes areas such as agriculture, construction and the healthcare sector. One focus is on the development of plant varieties which can better withstand the challenges of climate change, as well as the early detection of parasites and diseases. In the construction industry, this technology may be used to test the structural robustness of biological and decomposable materials.

We asked Ksenia Yashina, Head of AI at Orbem, which role artificial intelligence plays in the company:

Artificial intelligence as a key resource

Our AI helps us to make MRI imaging faster, cheaper and more accurate. AI is a key resource throughout our business model, helping us to perform in-ovo sexing of an egg in less than a second – currently our most important source of income. We are working with AI-powered imaging to diagnose eggs on day 12 of incubation or earlier. We are also actively developing an application to determine the fertility status of eggs before hatching and are exploring plant-based applications.

Applicability of AI-models

The integration of AI and MRI-technology is changing our approach to object analysis. This combination allows us to automatically identify and classify biological samples regardless of their source, thereby opening up opportunities in various fields. An important aspect of our approach is the principle of transferability of AI models – a strategy that allows us to apply AI insights from one industry to another. In the future, we plan to use our experience and technological insights in the poultry industry as a springboard into different areas. This strategy will help us to accelerate the development of new products and have a bigger global impact.

Combining complexity and performance

AI-technology is a composite of various fields such as machine learning, data analytics, data management and software engineering, to name a few. Navigating this complex field is a challenge, especially given the rapid evolution of tools and best practices. Our multidisciplinary teams seek to keep pace with these innovations and integrate them into a scalable and robust AI-platform. This platform is designed in such a way as to support rapid experimentation with AI-models, ensure a smooth and reliable transition from development to production and provide a secure environment for our data. The platform helps our model development teams to effectively utilize the latest tools to allow them to focus on achieving the best performance and impact.

Orbem on the way to success

By making AI-powered imaging accessible to everyone and everything, the team behind Orbem is brining light to the most difficult challenges of our time. This vision was born during Pedro’s and Miguel Molina’s doctoral studies at the Chair of Biomedical Imaging at TUM. Maria Laparidou, co-founder and veterinarian with a PhD, provided the biological knowledge base to build the business case for the first industrial application of MRI. In 2023, Orbem secured €30 million of funding from investors for further development of its MRI-technology. At the same time, the startup acquired the renowned German poultry grower Lohmann as a new customer. An important step towards a more ethical future in poultry farming.

Contact:
orbem.ai – hello@orbem.ai

The gate supported Orbem’s growth until moving out in 2022.