Hand-held agriculture technology that’s delivering global impact
University students turned agritech founders have developed portable AI devices that help farmers cut costs, improve sustainability and make real-time decisions to improve their business.
Traditional lab-based testing for grain and soil is slow and expensive. This can delay decisions that affect product quality, market timing and environmental outcomes.
In between researching biofuels and building a virtual biobank platform for medical research, three University PhD students saw an opportunity: how to make agricultural testing faster, cheaper and more accessible for farmers.
The trio went on to develop a handheld spectrometer – a device that uses light to rapidly analyse the chemical composition of materials. The device is paired to a machine learning platform to test crop and soil samples, delivering results in seconds to a smartphone, tablet or desktop.
They launched their first prototype in 2016 and founded their company, Hone, the same year. With support from the University’s Integrated Innovation Network, they gained the business skills, investor connections and commercial confidence to make their venture work.
The Hone team also secured an Accelerating Commercialisation grant from AusIndustry to help scale their technology and grow the business across Australia and internationally. Today, their customers span Australia, Europe and North America.
Hone benefits
Hone’s patented technology puts lab-grade testing in the hands of farmers, agronomists and researchers to enable quick, informed decisions when and where they’re needed.
The ‘Hone Lab Red’ instrument is portable, rugged and can be used in the field, during grain harvesting or at grain silos.
It is also used for soil testing, delivering compliant and reliable results for farms participating in the Carbon Farming Initiative or looking to improve soil quality.
Image: www.honeag.com
The company also won two Good Design Gold Awards for engineering and product design based on the technology’s reliability and user-friendliness.
GrainCorp, one of Australia’s leading agribusinesses, became a strategic investor in 2021 to help Hone expand its operations and explore new industry applications. Its platforms are now being used by major agricultural companies and carbon farming projects – and developers are building applications to test other sample types like oils, water and blood.
From a research idea to a Newcastle-based startup, Hone is now a major player in the international agritech and carbon farming sectors.
IMPACT
- Impressed by its carbon testing capabilities, Singapore-based investor Silverstrand Capital acquired a stake in Hone in 2022, to help the company scale its soil carbon measurement technology.
- Hone’s customers range from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO to carbon farming companies Loam Bio and AgriProve, a French farmer co-operative Limagrain, and a soil carbon company in the United States.
- Hone has built a portfolio of eight patents, three registered designs and 12 trademarks.
- The company employs engineers, developers and scientists across NSW and Victoria.
Last updated November 2025
More information:
Our technology is making agricultural testing faster, cheaper and more accessible for farmers across the globe
Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
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