Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is investing up to $1,693,412 for Vivid Machines Inc. (VMI) through the AgriScience Program – Projects Component under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This funding will support the development of cutting-edge computer vision and machine learning technology to help grape growers improve harvests and detect crop diseases early.

Through this project, VMI will adapt and expand the use of its current Vivid XV technology from apple orchards to grape vineyards. The company will upgrade their XV camera technology and train new computer vision models to spot crop diseases early, track fruit quality and predict yields on a per-vine, row and block basis. This technology will provide growers with real-time insights to protect their crops, reduce chemical use and support the resilience of Canada's grape and wine sector.

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting agricultural innovation that helps improve food production and drive long-term economic growth.

“This $1.69M investment from the Government of Canada through the AgriScience Program is a vote of confidence in Canadian-made innovation,” says Jenny Lemieux, co-founder and CEO, Vivid Machines Inc. “It allows us to take the computer vision technology we've built for apple growers and adapt it to tackle some of the toughest challenges facing grape growers such as crop load estimation, and early disease detection. It also means we can keep growing our team right here in Toronto, building the kind of high-skilled agtech jobs that keep Ontario at the forefront of precision agriculture."

• -  Vivid Machines is a Canadian agri-tech start-up that develops automated, plant-level imaging tools to help fruit growers optimize yields and manage crop health.
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• -  The Vivid XV System is an AI camera that mounts onto farm equipment like tractors and sprayers, to scan plants in real time, gathering data on plant health, fruit development, and early disease risks.
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• -  Computer vision is artificial intelligence technology that lets computers “see” by capturing and interpreting images and videos.
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• -  Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence that trains computers to learn from data and spot patterns over time, allowing them to make smart predictions on their own without being given instructions from a human.

Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada September 10, 2026 news release