Elena Konstantinova was born in Tarbagatay, a small town in the Russian republic of Buryatia. In the 11th grade, she was already recognized for her achievements in science; at the age of 19, she launched her own startup, Aerospace-Agro. Its products include a mathematical model designed to evaluate the conditions of agricultural land (e.g., the state and composition of soil), increase crop yields, and monitor fields for emergencies, as well as an AI-based system for the timely detection of agricultural emergencies.
Now, Elena is 23 and her technology has solved over 20 cases for agroholdings, private companies, and individual farmers from six Russian regions. In one instance, Aerospace-Agro prevented the loss of 70% of the crop yield by detecting and countering an infectious plant disease and applying moisture absorbers.
The startup raised 12 million rubles in 2021. This year, it began to collaborate with the environmental foundation Kompas and the Russian State University for Geological Prospecting. It is also negotiating with the Ministry of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan on the development of a digital agrotechnological platform for the country.
As Elena has shared with ITMO.NEWS, her team plans to find an investor, as well as run more tests and studies with agroholdings to expand its pool of scientific data from both Russia and abroad, primarily Asia and Africa. Meanwhile, the startup’s founder continues to study innovative entrepreneurship at ITMO and is going to carry on with her studies and research at her alma mater after graduation.
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30 Under 30 is an annual ranking published by Forbes Russia since 2020. The magazine’s editorial board, as well as a professional jury and the readers, nominate specialists under 30 who have gained national or international recognition for their professional achievements. Graduates of ITMO University are regularly featured on the list. Over the years, the nominees have included Greg Tkachenko, a co-founder of the startup AI Factory and a manager at Snap, Daniel Galper, the founder and CEO of Grow Food, and Ilya Chekh, the founder of Motorica.
