Herd-I.com
Herd-i Operations Limited is a New Zealand agritech company that sells AI-powered in-shed camera systems to commercial dairy farmers for automated lameness detection and body condition scoring, with deployment across New Zealand and a US market launch beginning April 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersChristchurch, New Zealand
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Herd-I.com does
Herd-i Operations Limited is a New Zealand-based agritech company that sells AI-powered camera systems to commercial dairy farmers for automated lameness detection and body condition scoring. The company is headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand, and operates in the Oceania (NZ) and North America (US) markets, with US installations beginning in April 2026 under a dedicated US CEO. Its documented customers include farms ranging from 250 to 1,900+ cows across sharemilkers, family operations, and large corporate dairy businesses such as Darnley Dairy, Blackford Farming, and Theland Mairoa Dairies.
The core product suite consists of two systems sharing a single pipeline. The Lameness Detection System, first launched in New Zealand in June 2024, uses in-shed or in-parlor cameras to capture video of each cow as it exits the milking shed, combined with Electronic Identification (EID) readers to identify individual animals and cloud-based machine learning models trained on over 15 million video images of dairy cows to assign locomotion scores on the DairyNZ 0-3 scale. The Body Condition Scoring (BCS) System, launched in May 2025 with a 42-farmer cohort and trained on over 1 million video images and 40,000+ real-world BCS scores, applies the same capture pipeline to produce daily BCS scores on the DairyNZ 3-6 scale. Customers access scores, images, watchlists, and reporting via the Herd-i Web Dashboard, and data flows into the dominant NZ/US farm management platforms (Protrack, MINDA, SenseHub, Halter) through formal integrations.
Herd-i generates revenue from a combination of one-time hardware installation fees plus recurring monthly subscriptions priced by agreed herd size, billed monthly by Direct Debit under a 36-month initial term with CPI-indexed annual price reviews. Go-to-market is direct field sales split between North Island and South Island sales managers in New Zealand, supplemented by presence at agricultural events such as Fieldays and Southern Field Days. Documented customer outcomes include a 38% reduction in herd lameness, a 41% reduction in antibiotic use for lameness treatment, and a 13% return on investment at case study farms per independent analysis by AgFirst. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding beyond a Callaghan Innovation grant in August 2024 and a March 2025 Untapped Ventures reference.
Herd-I.com firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Herd-I.com
- Legal name
- Herd-i Operations Limited
- Website
- https://herd-i.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Herd-i Operations Limited is a New Zealand agritech company that sells AI-powered in-shed camera systems to commercial dairy farmers for automated lameness detection and body condition scoring, with deployment across New Zealand and a US market launch beginning April 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Herd-I.com industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Precision Livestock Farming Software
- NAICS
- Dairy Cattle and Milk Production (112120)
- SIC
- Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523), Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Livestock Precision Monitoring Software (Herd/Flock Analytics, Health Alerts) (AFAAAFAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Livestock Monitoring & Wearables (Activity, Rumination, Health Sensors) (AFAAAIAG), Dairy Farm Data, Monitoring & Precision Dairy Operations (AFAEACAO), Herd Management Software & Identification (RFID, EID, Data Platforms) (AFAAAIAH)
Keywords
Where Herd-I.com is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Christchurch
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Herd-I.com business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Installation: One-time installation fee for hardware including camera equipment, on-farm configuration, and setup. Customers are responsible for costs associated with shed configuration, exit race setup, and internet data requirements. Title to hardware remains with Herd-i until paid in full.
- Subscription Fees: Monthly recurring subscription fees charged based on agreed herd size. Subscription commences once the Herd-i system is installed. Fees subject to annual review tied to New Zealand CPI. Automatic renewal for 12-month periods unless terminated with 30 days notice. Monthly payment via pre-authorized Direct Debit.
- Travel Costs: Travel costs incurred by Herd-i for installing hardware on customer farms are charged to the customer.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Subscription pricing based on herd size |
| Subscription | Monthly | Starlink Promotion - Southern Field Days Feb 2026 |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Herd-I.com product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Herd-i provides AI-powered camera vision systems installed in dairy milking sheds that capture video of individual cows as they exit the parlor. Video is analyzed by cloud-based machine learning models to automatically score each cow for lameness (DairyNZ 0-3 scale) and body condition (DairyNZ 3-6 scale), with results delivered through a web dashboard integrated with EID readers and farm management software.
Product overview
Herd-i is a unified AI-powered herd health monitoring platform consisting of two core systems: the Lameness Detection System and the Body Condition Scoring (BCS) System. Both systems use in-shed/in-parlor cameras and EID readers to capture video of individual cows as they exit the milking shed, which is analyzed via cloud-based machine learning models. Farmers access all data, alerts, and reports through the Herd-i Web Dashboard, which provides daily scores, rolling trends, customizable thresholds, and automated watchlist drafting capabilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Herd-i Lameness Detection System AI-powered camera-based system that provides automated early detection of lameness in dairy cows. Uses machine learning to analyze cow gait from in-shed video footage as cows exit the milking shed, assigning locomotion scores using the DairyNZ lameness scoring system (0-3 scale where 0 is healthy and 3 is very lame). Designed for commercial dairy farms.
- Herd-i Body Condition Scoring (BCS) System AI-powered automated daily body condition scoring system for dairy cows. Uses in-shed cameras and EID readers to identify individual cows and assess body condition via machine learning, assigning scores on the DairyNZ BCS scale (3-6). Provides trend monitoring for individual cows and whole herd rolling averages. Designed for commercial dairy operations.
- Herd-i Web Dashboard Web-based platform providing dairy farmers access to daily lameness and BCS scores along with images for each individual cow in the herd. Features customized threshold settings, notifications, watchlist management for automated drafting, and standard/customized reporting. Sold as part of the integrated Herd-i system for commercial dairy operations.
Quantifiable outcome
- 38% reduction in herd lameness
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Herd-I.com
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Herd-I.com technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability5 records
Feature5 records
Herd-I.com partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- ProtrackcoreIntegration partner for data exchange. Customers grant Herd-i access to herd and individual animal level data held in Protrack decision support software for research and analysis purposes.
- MINDAcoreIntegration partner for data exchange. Herd-i pulls cow identification data from MINDA automatically, enabling seamless integration with farm management records.
- SenseHubcoreIntegration partner for data exchange. Customers provide third party access to herd data in SenseHub for analysis and research purposes related to Herd-i system benefits.
- HaltercoreIntegration partner used alongside Herd-i on some farms. Mairoa Dairies uses both Halter (for virtual fencing and cow control) and Herd-i (for lameness and BCS monitoring). Herd-i pulls data from Halter for combined analysis.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Herd-I.com competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Halter: NZ-based agritech providing GPS-enabled virtual fencing and cow management for dairy farms. Overlaps with Herd-i on dairy farmer customer base and is both an integration partner (some farms use both) and a potential competitor in cow health analytics.
- Cainthus (Cargill): Computer-vision livestock monitoring company acquired by Cargill. Closest analog to Herd-i on the underlying technology (camera + AI for cattle), but now backed by a global ag giant — making it a potential competitor and partner for dairy customers.
Direct peers
- Afimilk: Long-established Israeli supplier of dairy herd management systems, including sensors, milk meters, and health/lameness monitoring. Directly comparable on the 'automated dairy herd health monitoring' value proposition Herd-i sells, with broader global installed base.
- Connecterra (Ida): Dutch AI dairy platform (Ida) using sensor data to deliver herd health, fertility, and lameness insights. Closely comparable to Herd-i on the 'AI for dairy cow health' proposition, with overlap in target customer (mid-to-large dairy farms) and similar ML-driven product story.
- smaXtec: Austrian dairy health monitoring company using intraruminal bolus sensors to detect health events (including lameness precursors) earlier than visual inspection. Directly comparable on automated dairy cow health monitoring, though via different sensing modality (in-cow bolus vs. Herd-i's cameras).
Broad incumbents
- SCR Dairy / Allflex Livestock Intelligence (MSD Animal Health): Global incumbent in livestock identification, sensors, and monitoring (now part of MSD Animal Health). Competes with Herd-i in dairy cow activity/health monitoring via rumination and motion collars, and has the scale and distribution to bundle health analytics into existing on-farm systems.
- DeLaval: Major global dairy equipment and milking systems supplier. Competes via its DelPro farm management platform and Herd Navigator / RePro analytics, addressing overlapping dairy herd health and reproduction outcomes alongside milking parlor hardware.
- BouMatic: Global dairy milking equipment and farm management provider. Comparable to Herd-i through on-farm hardware installed at the milking parlor, plus associated herd management software for dairy operations worldwide.
Regional players
- Stellapps Technologies: India-based dairy technology platform offering IoT/AI for milk production, animal health, and farmer services. Comparable AI-driven dairy herd monitoring proposition, but focused primarily on the Indian/South Asian dairy market rather than NZ/US.
- LIC (Livestock Improvement Corporation): NZ farmer-owned cooperative providing MINDA herd management software and genetics to NZ dairy farmers. Comparable on the data-platform layer for NZ dairy (Herd-i integrates with MINDA) and is a natural distribution/ecosystem partner, though not a direct vision-AI competitor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Herd-I.com social profiles
Digital presenceHerd-I.com financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Herd-I.com leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Herd-I.com funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Herd-I.com M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Herd-I.com
What does Herd-I.com do?
Herd-i provides AI-powered camera vision systems installed in dairy milking sheds that capture video of individual cows as they exit the parlor. Video is analyzed by cloud-based machine learning models to automatically score each cow for lameness (DairyNZ 0-3 scale) and body condition (DairyNZ 3-6 scale), with results delivered through a web dashboard integrated with EID readers and farm management software.
Is Herd-I.com a public or private company?
Herd-I.com is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Herd-I.com founded?
Herd-I.com was founded in 2024. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Herd-I.com based?
Herd-I.com is headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Herd-I.com make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Hardware Installation is the primary driver. The others are subscription Fees and travel Costs.
Who are Herd-I.com's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Halter and Cainthus (Cargill). Direct peers are Afimilk, Connecterra (Ida) and smaXtec. Broad incumbents are SCR Dairy / Allflex Livestock Intelligence (MSD Animal Health), DeLaval and BouMatic. Regional players are Stellapps Technologies and LIC (Livestock Improvement Corporation).
Does Herd-I.com have an API?
No public API is recorded for Herd-I.com.
What industry is Herd-I.com in?
Herd-I.com's product category is Precision Livestock Farming Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAAAFAM, Livestock Precision Monitoring Software (Herd/Flock Analytics, Health Alerts), with a secondary code of AFAAAIAG, Livestock Monitoring & Wearables (Activity, Rumination, Health Sensors). Its NAICS code is 112120 and its SIC code is 3523.