AGRIVI and the EIC Accelerator: An AI Agronomist on WhatsApp
Deciding when to spray, with what, and when a crop is safe to harvest is hard for small farmers without an agronomist. AGRIVI, a Zagreb company founded in 2013 that sells farm management software in more than 50 markets, set out to build ROBI, an AI adviser farmers could simply message on WhatsApp for guidance on pest risk, products, rules and safe harvest dates.
The European Innovation Council granted €1,156,312 towards a €1.68 million project. When it ended in May 2024, a first chatbot prototype was in testing with agricultural cooperatives. In August 2026, AGRIVI's AI Engage, an AI agent that reaches farmers "through the channels they already use", was named Agronomy Solution of the Year by the industry awards programme AgTech Breakthrough.
Company file
- Legal entity
- AGRIVI d.o.o., Zagreb, Croatia (VAT HR74555862029)
- Founded
- 2013
- CEO
- Matija Zulj, also an EIC ambassador
- Products
- AGRIVI 360 Farm Enterprise; AGRIVI AI Engage
- Reach
- 50+ markets and languages, five continents, per the company
- Size
- Small enterprise category, per the 2025 Manager of the Year award
- EIC project
- ROBI, 1 Jun 2022 to 31 May 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Grant only
Where AGRIVI Stands Today
AGRIVI sells farm management software to growers, food companies and input suppliers. In March 2026 its chief executive, Matija Zulj, received the Croatian managers' association award for Manager of the Year 2025 in the small-enterprise category; the company said it operates in more than 50 markets and languages on five continents. In August 2026 it announced the AgTech Breakthrough award for AI Engage, reporting a threefold increase in farm reach for its customers, about 70% of new sales coming from farmers first engaged by the AI agent and a 20% upsell uplift.
The claims
What AGRIVI says its AI agent does for sales
Business results AGRIVI reported for AI Engage when announcing its 2026 award; they describe its customers' sales to farmers and are not independently verified.
AGRIVI, 20 August 2026.
The Technology: Advice by Message
ROBI was designed to combine an AI model of pest risk, built from environmental and crop data, with rules on permitted products and pre-harvest intervals, and to deliver the result as a WhatsApp conversation. The CORDIS report describes the specification and design, a first chatbot prototype in testing, agronomists labelling data, and early market tests with cooperatives. AI Engage, which AGRIVI now sells, matches that description of an AI agent meeting farmers on their existing channels; the company's announcements do not state the link to the EIC project.
"AGRIVI AI Engage meets farmers through the channels they already use, and the business results validate the business model."
Matija Zulj, CEO, AGRIVI, August 2026What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 69% of a €1.68M project
ROBI ran from June 2022 to May 2024. The award was grant only.
CORDIS project 190102180. Values in € millions.
The project ran from June 2022 to May 2024 and aimed to "provide guidance for SME farmers through the process of when to spray based on AI pest risk detection, which products to use, which rules must be respected and when it is safe for harvest". At its end the report describes a prototype rather than a finished product, and gives no user numbers.
- AI pest-risk adviserPrototypeFirst chatbot in testing at project end.
- Market testingStartedEarly tests with cooperatives.
- An AI product on the marketYes, laterAI Engage on sale and awarded in 2026.
- Measured farm outcomesNot shownNo data on spraying or safety results.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The record
From farm software to an AI adviser
The EIC project ended with a prototype chatbot; two years later AGRIVI sells AI Engage, an AI agent for farmers, which won an industry award.
- 2013Company foundedZagreb, Croatia; CEO Matija Zulj
- Oct 2021EIC Accelerator cut-offROBI: AI adviser for agronomy and food safety
- Jun 2022EIC project startsWhatsApp chatbot with AI pest-risk detection€1.16M grant
- May 2024EIC project closesFirst chatbot prototype in testing; market tests with cooperatives
- Mar 2026Manager of the YearCEO recognised in the small-enterprise category in Croatia
- Aug 2026Agronomy Solution of the YearAgTech Breakthrough award for AGRIVI AI Engage
AGRIVI and CORDIS.
The Money
The EIC award was grant only. We found no announced funding round with an amount, and Croatian company accounts were not accessible for this article.
What cannot be checked
AGRIVI's revenue, how many farmers use its AI agent, and whether the agent improves spraying decisions are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EU wants farmers to use fewer and safer pesticides, and small farms rarely have agronomists. Advice delivered by message on the phone farmers already use is a practical route, and AGRIVI is a Croatian company selling such tools internationally.
What the project promised
An AI adviser guiding small farmers on spraying, products, rules and harvest safety.
What the record shows
A prototype at project end, followed by an award-winning AI agent on sale; no data on farm outcomes.
The Verdict
A prototype, and a later product
The EIC project itself ended early in the development curve, with a prototype in testing. AGRIVI has since brought an AI agent for farmers to market and won recognition for it. What the public cannot see is whether it changes how farmers spray, which was the environmental case for EU funding.
AGRIVI has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.
Industry
AgrifoodDigital agriculture
- Focus
- Farm management software
- Technologies
- Artificial intelligence
- Natural language processing
- Keywords
- Pest management
- Food safety
- Smallholder farmers
- Agronomy advice
- Chatbots