How AgTech Innovation Is Turning Hidden Impacts Into Measurable Insights
In a world awash with data, the most valuable innovations aren’t always those that generate more of it. Increasingly, the breakthrough technologies are the ones that turn existing information into decision-ready insights—metrics that are meaningful, measurable, and actionable.
Bruno Basso’s work sits at that very intersection. As a scientist and founder of CIBO Technologies, he offers a compelling case study in how quantifying what was once invisible can create new markets, unlock business value, and reshape entire industries.
The Quantification Revolution
“Agriculture is inherently a leaky system—it can contribute to pollution,” Basso notes. What his company does is help make that leakage measurable. CIBO Technologies has built a platform that quantifies environmental impacts across agricultural supply chains—everything from carbon sequestration to nitrate leaching to greenhouse gas emissions.
For decades, these impacts were understood qualitatively but remained difficult to measure at scale. By developing models that translate remote sensing data into specific environmental metrics, Basso’s team has made the invisible visible—and, more importantly, actionable.
This is more than a technical accomplishment. It’s a broader pattern: identify the meaningful aspects of complex systems that remain unmeasured, and build the tools to quantify them reliably. From healthcare to logistics to workplace engagement, many sectors face a similar challenge: how do you measure what matters most?
Metrics Create Markets
Perhaps the most powerful feature of measurement technology is the new business models it enables.
Once CIBO could reliably quantify environmental impacts, it unlocked demand from customers like Nestlé and Rabobank—companies not primarily looking for agricultural technology, but for solutions to pressing measurement challenges.
“Our main customers are food companies and banks that want to track and report their Scope 3 emissions,” Basso explains. With growing regulatory and investor pressure, these organizations needed trustworthy tools to measure sustainability across supply chains.
When demand for a metric intersects with regulatory or market pressure, the companies that can deliver that metric—accurately, consistently, and at scale—hold a significant advantage. Innovators in any industry would do well to ask: Where are important decisions being made without adequate measurement?
Science as a Strategic Asset
Not all measurement technologies succeed. The ones that do are backed by trust—and trust is built on credibility.
CIBO’s models are registered with VERRA and independently validated, offering customers confidence in the metrics they’re using to guide strategy and meet compliance requirements. Scientific rigor, in this case, isn’t just a philosophical principle—it’s a competitive advantage.
“I ensure the science stays rigorous and grounded in evidence,” Basso says of his role as Chief Scientist. “The credibility of the science is what sets CIBO apart.”
For founders building technologies around quantification, that’s a key lesson: peer-reviewed validation and scientific grounding aren’t just nice-to-haves. They’re essential components of a product’s value proposition—especially when customers are basing high-stakes decisions on your outputs.
Beyond AI: Why Process-Based Models Still Matter
In an era dominated by AI, Basso’s work highlights an important distinction. Not all intelligent systems are created equal.
“Our models have their own embedded intelligence—they’re based on biological mechanisms,” he explains. “That’s different from AI models, which learn patterns in data.”
While AI excels at pattern recognition within historical datasets, it can struggle to simulate novel scenarios—situations that haven’t occurred yet or conditions that fall outside its training data. Process-based models, grounded in scientific understanding, can fill that gap.
Basso sees the future as a fusion: process-based models can simulate systems and generate high-quality data, which AI can then use to detect patterns or optimize predictions. Each approach has its strengths—but it's their combination that unlocks new capabilities.
The Rise of the Measurement Layer
Across industries, innovators are building what might be called a “measurement layer”: technologies that quantify previously immeasurable aspects of business, society, and the environment. These tools don’t just inform—they transform how decisions are made.
CIBO’s platform, for example, doesn’t just track carbon sequestration—it enables new incentive programs, supports regulatory reporting, and strengthens sustainability claims made to consumers and investors.
This illustrates a broader truth: meaningful measurement enables action. And wherever decisions hinge on unmeasured variables, there’s an opportunity to build a product that turns ambiguity into clarity—and insight into value.
From Metrics to Markets
For founders, researchers, and innovation leaders, Basso’s journey offers a timely prompt: What important but currently unmeasured factor shapes decisions in your field?
Answer that question well, and you may find yourself not only building the next great dataset—but unlocking an entirely new market.
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This article is based on an interview with Bruno Basso, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of CIBO Technologies, on the MSU Research Foundation Podcast. You can listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.