Bhubaneswar: Silicon Valley tech firm FarmX has proposed a ₹1,000 crore investment to turn Odisha into an advanced manufacturing and export hub for autonomous electric tractors, AI software, and smart farming systems.
A delegation led by Chief Operating Officer Shri Premal Ashar and Head of AI Shri Lalit Bhatt pitched the project to Deputy Chief Minister Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Additional Chief Secretary Energy, and E&IT, Shri Vishal Kumar Dev.
Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, serving as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Electronics and Information Technology Department in Odisha, acts as a primary catalyst in positioning the state as a major technology hub.
His strategic initiatives focus on infrastructure development, policy framework execution, and attracting both domestic and global high-tech investments.
Shri Dev actively engages with international technology firms and Silicon Valley delegations to expand tech manufacturing and software capabilities within the state.
This proactive outreach includes holding high-level discussions with companies like FarmX for thousand-crore investments into artificial intelligence software, robotics, and autonomous systems manufacturing campuses. He also leverage international Memorandums of Understanding, such as state collaborations with Singapore, to drive financial technology and cross-border digital system investments.
The initiative features a state-of-the-art campus aiming to produce 1,000 autonomous electric tractors and 100,000 field-sensing units annually. It is projected to generate 1,120 direct and 3,700 indirect jobs while integrating FarmX’s open-architecture platform, FarmMap. Using satellite imagery, patented soil moisture sensors, and a regional Odia app, the system provides real-time intelligence and automated irrigation to optimize farm inputs.
The proposal is currently under active discussion, reflecting the state’s push to attract global deep-technology innovators in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and electric mobility.