Mansi Taneja

Indian agritech innovator empowering smallholder farmers through AI-driven solutions

Mansi Taneja's 2021 startup CropWise AI has become a pivotal force in India's agricultural tech revolution. Growing up in Rajasthan, she witnessed how monsoon unpredictability devastated farmers' livelihoods. Her AI platform uses satellite imagery and weather data to provide hyper-localized crop advisories, reaching 1.5 million farmers across 18 Indian states.

In 2023, Taneja launched "Digital Kisan" - India's first farmer-focused blockchain system that connects producers directly with exporters, cutting out middlemen and increasing incomes by 35%. Her collaboration with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) integrated weather prediction models into the platform's analytics.

Awards include the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia and the FAO's Innovation Prize for Rural Transformation. Her TED Talk "How AI is Saving India's Farms" has become required viewing for agribusiness students globally. Current initiatives include a solar-powered IoT sensor network for drip irrigation systems in drought-prone regions and a partnership with Microsoft's AI for Earth program to develop pest prediction models.