LAPEA - Laboratório de Análises e Pesquisas em Estatística Aplicada

What LAPEA - Laboratório de Análises e Pesquisas em Estatística Aplicada does

LAPEA is a non-profit university research laboratory housed within the Statistics Department of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was established in 2019 and operates with approximately six staff, primarily doctoral and post-doctoral researchers drawn from UFV's Graduate Program in Applied Statistics and Biometry (PPGESTBIO) and the Graduate Program in Genetics and Breeding (PPGGM), under the coordination of Professor Luiz Alexandre Peternelli. LAPEA delivers statistical consulting, formal advisory contracts, and didactic educational content (video courses in Basic Statistics and Linear Models, plus a published R programming book), serving UFV undergraduate and graduate students, professors, and researchers as primary users, alongside corporate clients in agribusiness.

The lab's technology stack centers on applied statistical learning and machine learning, including XGBoost and support vector machines for predictive analytics, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and k-means image segmentation for computer vision, and geostatistical methods such as kriging. Specialized capabilities include NIR (Near-Infrared) spectroscopy modeling for seed quality and drying rate prediction, and analysis of drone (VANT) and satellite imagery for decision support in soybean, maize, and sugarcane cultivation. Domain focus is concentrated in agriculture, particularly sugarcane breeding and grain processing.

Commercially, LAPEA generates revenue through professional services: consultancy sessions and formal advisory contracts are priced on a case-by-case basis by the coordinator, while the initial consultancy meeting is provided pro bono. Funds are received and administered through FUNARBE (Fundação Arthur de Sá Earp Neto) and reinvested in training, equipment, software, and infrastructure. Named corporate clients include Bayer and an additional unnamed multinational, with project scopes spanning continuous-flow corn drying analysis, NIR predictive modeling, and image-based seed quality assessment. Distribution is direct and regional, supported by academic referrals, conference presence (RBras, SIA), and institutional channels within UFV.

Name

LAPEA - Laboratório de Análises e Pesquisas em Estatística Aplicada

Legal name

LAPEA - Laboratório de Análises e Pesquisas em Estatística Aplicada

Website

https://lapea.ufv.br

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LAPEA is a UFV-affiliated non-profit statistics research laboratory providing statistical consulting, formal advisory contracts, and applied machine learning services to agribusiness clients and UFV students. It specializes in agricultural applications including NIR spectroscopy, CNN-based image analysis, and predictive modeling for seed and crop optimization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Statistical Research and Consulting Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHALAJ

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

Keywords

• Statistical consulting services
• Agricultural data analysis
• Predictive modeling analytics
• Machine learning research
• University research laboratory

Headquarters

HQ city

Viçosa

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Initial consultancy meetings are provided free of charge (pro bono). Subsequent consultancy meetings and advisory activities have investment values defined by the coordinator. Funds raised are deposited with FUNARBE (Fundação Arthur de Sá) and reinvested in member training, materials, equipment, software, and infrastructure.
2. Advisory Contracts: Personalized technical assistance formalized through contracts according to UFV internal legislation. Projects involve complete planning and/or statistical analysis with a complete report delivered. Value is determined by the coordinator.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LAPEA is a university research laboratory that provides statistical consulting and formal advisory services to students, researchers, and corporate clients. Services cover experimental design, data analysis, machine learning predictive modeling, and interpretation of results across domains including agriculture, civil engineering, physics, and home economics.

Product overview

LAPEA operates as a statistical consulting and research laboratory at the Federal University of Viçosa, offering two primary service modalities: Statistical Consulting (advice and guidance on data analysis and experimental planning) and Statistical Advisory (formal project-based partnerships with customized analysis and comprehensive reports). The laboratory also develops educational products including Basic Statistics and Linear Models video courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Research focus areas include agricultural applications with machine learning, computer vision for crop and seed analysis, and predictive modeling using NIR and imaging data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Statistical Consulting Services Advisory service offering guidance on data analysis, experimental planning, statistical methods selection, and interpretation of results (including p-values and non-parametric tests) for students, researchers, and corporate clients.
• Statistical Advisory Services Personalized, contract-based technical assistance and project-based statistical analysis formalized through UFV-compliant contracts, delivering complete planning, statistical analysis, and a comprehensive final report with conclusions and interpretations.
• Data Analysis for Agricultural Research Specialized statistical and machine-learning analytical service for agricultural applications, covering sugarcane breeding, soybean cultivation, seed quality optimization, drying rate prediction, and NIR spectroscopy-based predictive modeling.

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BayercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAPEA maintains ongoing consulting projects with Bayer for agricultural data analysis. Projects involve continuous flow processes including corn drying analysis using NIR and deep learning predictive models, and drying rate analysis for seed quality optimization.
• Multinational Company (Unnamed)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAPEA has a contract with a multinational company for data analysis and problem-solving across three projects focused on seed quality and processing: modeling for drying rate; prediction models with NIR data; and prediction models based on images.
• PMGCA-UFV (Programa de Melhoramento Genético da Cana-de-açúcar)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAPEA collaborates with PMGCA-UFV on research projects, particularly in providing statistical support for sugarcane breeding programs. LAPEA coordinated a social media internship selection in collaboration with PMGCA.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bayer Crop Science: Bayer is both a LAPEA partner and a global ag-input incumbent with extensive in-house data science and breeding analytics. It is comparable because it operates in the same agricultural data analytics domain (seed quality, NIR, predictive modeling) but at vastly larger scale.
• Climate Fieldview (Climate Corporation): Climate Fieldview is a global ag-analytics platform offering data-driven decision support, satellite imagery, and predictive models for farmers and agribusiness. Comparable to LAPEA in combining agricultural domain knowledge with remote sensing and predictive analytics.
• Corteva Agriscience: Corteva is a global seed and crop protection company with significant data-driven breeding and analytics capabilities. Comparable to LAPEA in working at the intersection of seed genetics, agronomy, and applied statistics.
• SAS Institute: SAS provides statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and analytics software widely used in agriculture and life sciences. Comparable to LAPEA's statistical consulting and modeling capabilities, though at enterprise software scale.

Others

• Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária): Embrapa is Brazil's federal agricultural research corporation, running applied statistics, breeding, and NIR analytics at scale. Comparable to LAPEA as a Brazilian public-sector research institution doing statistical and breeding research in agriculture.

Emerging players

• Indigo Agriculture: Indigo Ag applies data science, ML, and agronomic expertise to improve seed performance and crop outcomes. Comparable to LAPEA in combining applied statistics/ML with seed-quality and crop improvement use cases.
• Taranis: Taranis uses aerial imagery and AI/computer vision to deliver crop intelligence and field-level analytics. Directly comparable to LAPEA's drone/satellite imagery + CNN work for sugarcane and soybean.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@lapeaufvicosa4292
• Instagraminstagram.com/lapea_ufv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lapea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 LAPEA - Laboratório de Análises e Pesquisas em Estatística Aplicada