Source.ag Buys Optimal for Autonomous Greenhouse Climate Control

Greenhouse AI just got a closed loop. On October 9, 2026, Amsterdam-based Source.ag announced it has acquired London startup Optimal, one of the first systems to run a commercial greenhouse climate autonomously. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founder Dave Hunter joins Source as VP Autonomous Control with his engineering team.

What Optimal adds

Optimal’s AI directly controls heating, ventilation, screens, lighting, CO₂ and irrigation through the grower’s existing hardware. Physics and machine-learning models plan the climate days ahead and re-optimise as the weather changes. In a commercial Dutch greenhouse it delivered 13% more yield with 27% less energy than the benchmark Dutch grower, and it has also run in Canada — figures that come from Optimal.

What Source already does

• Crop monitoring, harvest forecasts weeks ahead and automated irrigation
• Software in more than 500 greenhouses across 25 countries
• Supports about €2.5 billion of tomato, pepper and cucumber production a year
• Works with 13 of the world’s 25 largest high-tech growers; Source has raised €50 million

Next steps

Together the stack observes, predicts and acts. First autonomous deployments at Source customers in Europe and North America go live this winter. Agro Care CEO Kees van Veen, a Source customer, said growers need tools that keep climate stable and energy in check — not more hype.

Rocks take

Physical AI in a tomato greenhouse is the same idea as automating a smart home: sensors, models, then actuators. Yield claims are vendor trial data until independent growers publish their own numbers.