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SVG Ventures Thrive and NEC X are partnering to build bridges between agritech entrepreneurial ecosystems and NEC X venture-building capabilities. Launched in 2018, NEC X is the NEC Corporation’s Silicon Valley innovation hub and venture studio. By partnering with SVG Ventures Thrive, a global investment and innovation platform, it will collaborate to identify opportunities for new ventures in agriculture and fast-track acceleration of resulting ventures from NEC X. The organisations will focus on North America initially. SVG Ventures Thrive will provide access to sector-focused entrepreneurial talent from its pre-seed Academy programmes and founder database. NEC X will also benefit from strategic industry insights derived from the platform and Thrive team, as well as participate in exclusive ecosystem activities alongside Thrive portfolio companies and corporate partners. In the collaboration, NEC X will bring its R&D expertise in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, sensors, data analytics and cloud computing to the agritech venture. It can assist entrepreneurs in implementing advanced solutions like precision agriculture, automated farming systems, crop monitoring and predictive analytics for optimised production and resource management. NEC provides a spectrum of technology products and services globally across various industry verticals. In this context, NEC Corporate participates in the agriculture market with a digital platform solution, CropScope, supporting agriculture operations with AI and data analytics. Shintaro Matsumoto, president and CEO of NEC X commented: “At NEC X, we recognize the growing importance of the agriculture and food industry in addressing global challenges such as climate change and a growing population”. Matsumoto added: “By partnering with Thrive, we're excited to support entrepreneurs in this space and jointly innovate to advance the future of agriculture and food”.