Google DeepMind Selects 16 Organizations in APAC to Accelerate AI-Driven Environmental Solutions

Google DeepMind has selected 16 organizations, including startups, non-profits, and research teams in the Asia-Pacific region, as the first cohort of the Google DeepMind Accelerator: AI for the Planet (APAC) program. The program aims to leverage the latest AI models to address urgent environmental challenges such as climate, agriculture, and biodiversity.

Participating organizations will begin with a hands-on bootcamp in Singapore, followed by three months of expert mentoring and tailored technical support. In particular, they will be granted access to Google's frontier AI models, including AnthroKrishi, ForestCast, AlphaEarth Foundations, SpeciesNet, and Perch, to help scale their solutions.

Key Support Areas and Participating Organizations

The program is divided into three areas: nature conservation, sustainable agriculture, and climate and carbon solutions.

• Nature Conservation and Climate Resilience: New Zealand's 800 Trust monitors biodiversity using bioacoustics, while South Korea's TelePIX converts satellite data into mangrove monitoring information. Indonesia's Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari is developing a predictive AI platform that links environmental degradation with disaster risk.
• Sustainable Agriculture: India's Terrastack combines satellite and agronomic data to provide plot-level information to smallholder farmers, while Australia's X-Centric replaces soil laboratories with portable AI X-ray hardware. Thailand's Living Roots uses AI to design biological fertilizers tailored to specific crops.
• Climate and Carbon Solutions: Japan's Archeda transforms nature-based carbon credits into verifiable assets using satellite data, and India's Varaha Climate supports regenerative agriculture farmers in obtaining carbon credits through remote sensing and AI.