Intello Labs, a global artificial intelligence (AI) powered quality assaying start-up, formally announced the launch of their Praman business today, which has been in stealth mode over the past few months. Praman is ground-breaking agriculture produce trade exchange platform, with integrated quality assessment. It currently facilitates spot-trading and e-auctioning in agri-commodities including cardamom, onion, garlic, pomegranate, apple, potato, and tomato. Praman is building a much-needed quality layer between farmers and traders to accelerate and accomplish the digital transformation of Indian agriculture.
Within a few months since its launch, Praman has already achieved a monthly gross transaction value (GTV) of US$ 40 million. Praman has successfully re-engineered auctions and trade through AI-based quality assessment, making them data-driven and digital. As a digital exchange platform, Praman breaks the limitations of the current manual processes, automatically generating quality reports which are fed directly into the exchange platform. Besides automating workflow, Praman makes data on the quality of the agri-produce remotely accessible, allowing traders to participate in real-time from anywhere, without the need to be physically present at auctions or market yards.
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“We are pleased to give the entire trading process a digital makeover, driving geographic expansion and market outreach. This initiative is one more step in establishing Intello Labs as a leader in agritech and innovation,” said Milan Sharma, co-founder, and CEO of Intello Labs. “We’ve set the path to automation and standardisation in the industry. It is only a matter of time before the convenience, speed, and efficiency of Praman set the path for the future of digital agri-trade,” Sharma added.
According to Intello Labs, as an example, size, colour, and defects are a few primary quality criteria considered during cardamom grading. The subjectivity of manual grading causes drastic fluctuation in pricing decisions during auctions. Intello Labs’ quality assaying technology brings over 95 per cent accuracy to cardamom quality grading as opposed to about 70 per cent using manual methods. This objectivity and precision make fairer pricing and true price discovery possible for both the grower as well as the trader, an unprecedented benefit.
“I can see what grade my produce is and see the bidding live. Now I can also withdraw my produce from the auction and put it for re-auction if I am unhappy with the auction prices as compared to my quality and the rest of the growers’ quality. This is brilliant,” said Vasu, a cardamom grower from Theni, Tamil Nadu.
Agricultural trade is shifting from physical to digital, and Praman is accelerating this digitisation. Praman is rapidly growing for all commodities and expects to hit a monthly gross transaction value of US$ 100 million within the next two quarters, which will make it the largest agri-trade exchange in India, the company has claimed.
