Soonapse

What Soonapse does

Soonapse SRL is a Rome-headquartered Italian innovative SME (PMI Innovativa, P.IVA 13588891005), founded in December 2015 by Marco Ciarletti, that builds a Decision Support System (DSS) platform explicitly designed for IoT environments under the tagline "CONNECT. EVALUATE. PLAN." Its first and flagship vertical is Ploovium®, an AI-driven smart-irrigation system for agriculture 4.0 that predicts soil and crop water potential over a rolling five-day horizon at three-hour intervals using Random Forest and Recurrent Neural Networks, with claimed accuracy exceeding 99%, and then applies genetic algorithms to recommend when and how much to irrigate. A patented dual-phase AI engine (Italian patent granted May 2021, international PCT, extended to EU-17 countries, USA, Israel and India) underpins a per-soil/crop dedicated AI instance that continuously self-learns from forecast-versus-actual comparisons, and a per-crop ontology enables the system to cover more than 30 crops including vineyards, tomato, corn, alfalfa and dates. Scientific validation is anchored by a three-year CREA and University of Florence (UNIFI/DAGRI) deficit-irrigation trial on tomatoes, co-authored in the MetroAgriFor 2020 paper and presented at AISSA 2022, alongside an early research collaboration with the Technische Universität Berlin on soil salinity and water content.

The commercial product is delivered as Ploovium® together with soil sensors, weather stations and complementary valve/actuator hardware (including Sol Chip's SolTag™ platform under a 2021 partnership), with revenue generated through an initial one-time monitoring-equipment investment followed by recurring annual subscriptions for the AI service and connectivity; pricing is quote-based and supported by a free, no-registration Configuratore Ploovium® ROI calculator launched in September 2025, with PNRR agricultural-innovation subsidies able to cover 65–80% of customer costs. Distribution is primarily direct B2B ([email protected], [email protected]) to wineries, agricultural enterprises, public irrigation consortia and research institutions in Italy, augmented by channel sales through the Sol Chip partnership, accelerator-driven corporate introductions via Foodseed/CDP Venture Capital (with co-investors Fondazione Cariverona and UniCredit) and EIT Food's InnoWise Scale, and an event-led marketing cadence across Italian and European agritech fairs (EIMA, Tomato World, ForumPA, Agriscape Abu Dhabi, EU-Africa Business Forum Abidjan). Recognition includes ForumPA 2017 Smart Agriculture best project (WaterPlan), Merlin Innovation Awards 2023 Service-of-the-Year finalist (Ploovium®), and selection among the 10 most innovative Italian startups at EIMA 2022 by ICE/ITA.

Name

Soonapse

Legal name

Soonapse SRL

Website

https://soonapse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rome-headquartered Soonapse SRL develops Ploovium®, an AI-powered Decision Support System that predicts soil water potential at >99% accuracy and optimises irrigation across more than 30 crops. It sells primarily through annual subscriptions plus hardware to Italian wineries, farms, public irrigation bodies and research institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Agriculture Software

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (1151), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Irrigation Scheduling & Advisory Services (ET/Soil-Moisture Based) (AFACAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Irrigation Scheduling & Water Optimization Analytics (AFABAMAG), Precision Irrigation & Water Management (Smart Irrigation, Scheduling, VRI, Water Sensors) (AFAGALAF)

Keywords

• Precision irrigation software
• Smart agriculture AI
• Agricultural decision support
• IoT water management
• Soil water prediction

Headquarters

HQ city

Cagliari

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ploovium® Annual Subscription: Recurring annual subscription covering the Ploovium® AI service and connectivity. After the initial investment in monitoring equipment, subsequent years require only the annual subscription for service and connectivity, providing recurring revenue. The official Ploovium® Configuratore frames cost as: 'first year = monitoring equipment investment, subsequent years = annual subscription + connectivity'.
2. Initial Hardware/Monitoring Equipment Sale: One-time sale of soil sensors, weather stations, and other monitoring hardware (and complementary actuators/valve controls) required to deploy Ploovium® in the first year. Often paired with sensors from partners such as Sol Chip (SolTag™).
3. Joint Integrated Solution via Partner Sol Chip: Co-delivered solution with Sol Chip combining sensing (SolTag™), decision support (Ploovium®) and control (self-powered SolTag devices) available through both Soonapse and Sol Chip channels, enabling shared revenue economics on the integrated offering.
4. Professional Services / Research & Trial Programs: Provision of Ploovium® to research bodies (CREA, University of Florence/UNIFI, Technische Universität di Berlin) and consortia for multi-year experimental trials (e.g., 3-year tomato deficit irrigation trial with CREA and UNIFI). Supports revenue from grant-funded and scientific study engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Soonapse develops and sells Ploovium®, an AI-based Decision Support System (DSS) for predictive smart irrigation. The product forecasts soil/crop water potential over a 5-day horizon at 3-hour intervals with greater than 99% accuracy, then uses genetic algorithms to recommend optimal irrigation timing and volumes, achieving up to 50% reductions in water use and general irrigation costs. It is sold to farms, wineries, public irrigation consortia, and research bodies primarily as a recurring annual subscription bundled with monitoring hardware, supported by the free Configuratore Ploovium® savings calculator.

Product overview

Soonapse operates as a platform-plus-verticals company. Its core technology is the Soonapse Decision Support System (DSS) — a horizontal AI-powered platform explicitly designed for the IoT ("CONNECT. EVALUATE. PLAN.") that fuses semantic tools, ontologies, rules and AI to enable planning and replanning in real time. The first vertical solution built on this DSS is Ploovium®, the patented predictive smart-irrigation system (>99% accuracy 5-day forecasts, up to 50% water/cost savings). Ploovium® is supported by the Configuratore Ploovium® self-service savings calculator, and was preceded by SWAP (Smart WAtering Planner), the legacy vertical that Ploovium® evolved from. WaterPlan is a separate end-to-end partner bundle that combines SWAP with 32connect.net IoT sensors and Open Sky satellite connectivity, while the latest Configuratore Ploovium® extends the Ploovium® line into a free customer-acquisition and ROI-estimation tool.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ploovium®: Soonapse's flagship smart irrigation Decision Support System (DSS) for agriculture 4.0, using patented AI methods to predict soil water potential and optimize irrigation with up to 99% accuracy.

Products and services

• Ploovium® Ploovium® is Soonapse's flagship patented Decision Support System for predictive smart irrigation, targeted at farms, wineries, agricultural consortia, and research bodies. It predicts soil/crop water potential for the next 5 days at 3-hour intervals with greater than 99% accuracy using Random Forest and Recurrent Neural Networks, then applies genetic algorithms to recommend when and how much to irrigate, achieving up to 50% water and general irrigation-cost savings.
• Configuratore Ploovium® Configuratore Ploovium® is a free web-based configurator (no registration required) that lets farmers and growers input their irrigated fields, hectares, water cost, seasonal m³/HA, general irrigation costs, crop type, and weather station presence and instantly receive a personalized estimate of water and cost savings from adopting Ploovium®, broken down by current situation, first-year adoption benefits, and benefits from the second year onward (assumes conservative 30% savings despite Ploovium® delivering up to 50%).
• SWAP (Smart WAtering Planner) SWAP (Smart WAtering Planner) was Soonapse's first vertical application of its Decision Support System technology in irrigation automation, demonstrated from 2016 onward (M2M Forum Milan, IoThings Milan, Foggia Agriculture Fair, ForumPA 2017, 6th EU-Africa Business Forum in Abidjan 2017) and described as delivering up to 50% recovery of water resources and cultivation management costs. SWAP was later evolved and rebranded into the commercially available Ploovium® product line.
• WaterPlan WaterPlan is an end-to-end 'irrigation 4.0' offering combining Soonapse's SWAP decision support with 32connect.net IoT agronomic measurement devices and Open Sky satellite connectivity (Tooway), enabling effective connectivity in 100% of locations including remote agricultural areas and qualifying Italian farmers for Industry 4.0 tax benefits.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 50% water savings (conservatively quoted at 30%)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Eatable AdventurescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 27 November 2023Operated the 6-month acceleration program for Soonapse within the Foodseed accelerator; participated in the Demo Day in Verona on 13 November 2023.
• AmadoriminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2023Corporate partner of the Foodseed/CDP Venture Capital Foodtech accelerator; participated in the Demo Day in Verona on 13 November 2023 alongside Soonapse.
• Cattolica Business Unit of Generali ItaliaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2023Corporate partner of the Foodseed/CDP Venture Capital Foodtech accelerator; participated in the Demo Day in Verona on 13 November 2023 alongside Soonapse.
• AxxeleraminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2023Corporate partner of the Foodseed/CDP Venture Capital Foodtech accelerator; participated in the Demo Day in Verona on 13 November 2023 alongside Soonapse.
• VeronafiereminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 November 2023Corporate partner and host venue of the Foodseed/CDP Venture Capital Foodtech accelerator Demo Day in Verona on 13 November 2023.
• Università degli Studi di VeronaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2023Scientific partner of the Foodseed/CDP Venture Capital Foodtech accelerator; participated in the Demo Day in Verona on 13 November 2023.
• Comune di Roma and Città Metropolitana di RomaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2023Soonapse is co-organizer with Comune di Roma (Assessorato all'Agricoltura, Ambiente e Ciclo dei Rifiuti) of 'La primavera 4.0 dell'agricoltura romana' event series launched in March 2023 (first meeting 22 March, World Water Day) at Palazzo Valentini, bringing together AgTech innovators in the Rome agricultural ecosystem.
• ICE/ITA (Italian Trade Agency)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 November 2022Selected Soonapse among the 10 most innovative Italian startups in the sector for the EIMA 2022 Startup Area (Hall 37 Stand S14); promotes Italian companies abroad and supports their internationalization.
• Future Food InstituteminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 May 2022Promoter of REGENERATION – EU AgriFood Week (May 2022 in Pollica, UNESCO Emblematic Community of the Mediterranean Diet) in collaboration with the European Commission Representation in Italy; Soonapse participated in the event.
• Institut Français Italia and CCI France Italie – Chambre de CommerceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 May 2022Organizers of the 'Smart Farming: Produire in modo più intelligente' Café dell'Innovazione webinar (23 May 2022) with Food Hub SRL as partner; Soonapse CEO Marco Ciarletti presented alongside 3Bee, Valeur-Tech, MyEasyFarm, INRAE DigitAg, Beeguard and Jungle.
• DeliveryRankminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 February 2022Online publication that invited Soonapse for a blog interview on Ploovium® focused on sustainable and human-friendly food.
• Piacenza Expo and ART-ER Attrattività Ricerca TerritoriominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 February 2022Selected Soonapse among the most innovative Italian companies in the sector for the Future Farm area at Tomato World 2024 (Stand F, 15–16 February 2024) in Piacenza.
• EIT FoodcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2021Organizer of the InnoWise Scale – Water Scarcity in Southern Europe program that selected Soonapse and Ploovium® as a solution provider in the agricultural case study. InnoWise Scale activities were modelled around 3 case studies on water management in agriculture, infrastructure and water services.
• BioazulminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 September 2021Co-organizer (with EIT Food and REVOLVE) of the InnoWise Scale – Water Scarcity in Southern Europe program that selected Soonapse and Ploovium® as a solution provider.
• REVOLVEminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 September 2021Co-organizer (with EIT Food and Bioazul) of the InnoWise Scale – Water Scarcity in Southern Europe program that selected Soonapse and Ploovium® as a solution provider.
• SanLucarminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2021Problem owner in the InnoWise Scale agricultural case study on water scarcity; Soonapse and seven other European solution providers competed to test their solutions with SanLucar.
• Sol ChipcoreTechnology or Integration · 7 April 2021Announced 7 April 2021 from Rome and Milwaukee. Sol Chip (inventor of the LightChip™ and the SolTag™ precision-agriculture sensing platform) and Soonapse (creator of Ploovium®) partnered to deliver an integrated sensing + decision-support + control irrigation and salinity management solution optimized for dozens of crops. The solution combines Sol Chip's solar-powered SolTag™ sensors and self-powered control devices (valves, switches, actuators) with Ploovium®'s AI decision support, available from both Sol Chip and Soonapse.
• CREA and UNIFI (University of Florence, DAGRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2020Research partners that used the Ploovium® DSS for a 3-year tomato deficit-irrigation trial. Co-authors on the MetroAgriFor 2020 paper 'Ploovium: a decision support system for increasing water use efficiency of irrigated crops'. First-year results presented at AISSA 2022.
• Arnaldo Caprai WinerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2019Flagship reference customer and viticulture R&D partner since 2019; Soonapse installed Ploovium® in their Montefalco vineyards when they did not yet have an irrigation system, using it to study water behavior of their vineyard/soil systems and to design the most suitable irrigation system.
• Technische Universität di BerlinominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2019Research collaboration launched in February 2019 around the time of Ploovium® commercialization, focused on sensors, soil salinity and soil water content for smart irrigation.
• AssintelminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2017Italian ICT trade association of which Soonapse is a member; Soonapse participates in Assintel working group on AgriFood, co-organizing conferences such as 'Digital Transformation nell'AgriFood' at EIMA International in Bologna (10 November 2018).

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• xFarm Technologies: Italian/Swiss agritech platform providing farm management, IoT sensors and decision-support to European farmers. Closest direct European peer with overlapping Italian customer base and Agriculture 4.0 grant-driven go-to-market.
• MyEasyFarm: French precision-agriculture platform aggregating IoT data, satellite imagery and agronomic models into decision-support dashboards. Comparable AI-driven agronomic DSS offering and EU farmer customer segment; presented alongside Soonapse at Café dell'Innovazione.
• CropX: Israel-based precision-irrigation platform combining soil sensors, cloud analytics and AI-driven irrigation recommendations. Most direct competitor to Ploovium® in AI-based predictive irrigation, with similar per-soil/crop optimization and large-enterprise farm customer base.
• AquaSpy: US-based provider of soil-moisture probes and crop-irrigation analytics used by large farms and growers. Direct peer on the sensor-plus-irrigation-decision-support layer; complementary rather than identical on AI, but overlapping farm customer.
• 3Bee: Italian agritech using IoT sensors and AI to monitor biodiversity, pollinators and irrigation. Comparable Italian SME scale, AI+IoT agritech positioning and presence alongside Soonapse at Café dell'Innovazione events; directly comparable Italian peer.
• Tule Technologies: US precision-irrigation company specializing in actual evapotranspiration and crop-water-stress analytics, with a strong viticulture reference base analogous to Soonapse's Arnaldo Caprai beachhead. Direct peer in the high-value crop / water-stress DSS category.

Broad incumbents

• Semios: Large precision-agriculture platform offering IoT sensors, AI-driven pest, disease and irrigation decision support to specialty crop growers. Comparable AI-DSS + IoT bundling to Ploovium®, but at much greater scale across North America, Europe and Australasia.
• Pessl Instruments (METOS): Austrian/global provider of agricultural IoT weather stations, soil sensors and decision-support services. Established incumbent comparable to Soonapse on the IoT-sensor-to-decision layer, with a much wider product portfolio and global distribution.
• AGRIVI: Croatian/global farm management software vendor offering agronomic decision support across multiple crops. Broader incumbent in farm-management DSS with overlapping Italian and EU customer segment and Ploovium®-adjacent decision-support functionality.

Others

• SolChip (Sol Chip / SolTag): Partner rather than competitor; Israeli/US IoT company whose SolTag™ self-powered sensors and actuators integrate directly with Ploovium®. Relevant as a comparison for the hardware side of the Soonapse integrated bundle and as a precedent for IoT-DSS partnering in agriculture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Soonapse/61555689892091
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soonapse-srl
• Instagraminstagram.com/soonapse_

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Soonapse