About Us

Weaver ants (pinkish insects with a green-colored queen) are a mighty species indigenous to Southeast Asia. These ants feed on other critters and, as such, can serve as a natural alternative to chemical pesticides. Our company was born when our founder had the idea to try to scale this natural pesticide solution. In January 2022, when we launched our first pilot program in Thailand with support from the Thai government, we planned to work with local farmers to help them cultivate these ants. We hoped to spur organic agricultural practices and put an end to the chemicals ravaging the health of the surrounding community and environment.

Believe it or not, we started out as an ant farming company (hence the name “GreenAnt”).

Soon after we arrived, however, we realized that we had misunderstood the problem. Pesticides were being used not for lack of a natural alternative, but because of the risk associated with organic practices. Farmers were structurally shut out from financial markets and banking systems and unable to acquire the necessary loans. The result was that they were unwilling or unable to shift away from the use of chemicals because they couldn’t afford to lose their crops.

So we pivoted. It was clear that GreenAnt had to focus on empowering farmers and tackle this problem of risk more directly if we were to fulfill our mission. We turned to satellite monitoring—which we’d been using to analyze the efficacy of the ants as pesticide alternatives—realizing that its expansive capabilities provided a much more potent, more comprehensive tool to mitigate risk, sure up farmers’ security, and bolster climate resilience.

We’ve come a long way since that first pilot project in Thailand—we’ve since said goodbye to the ants—but our core, driving purpose remains fundamentally the same: To empower people with tools that reduce loss and harm; to improve access to capital, especially for vulnerable communities; and to facilitate sustainable, climate-informed practices that boost resilience. We think that this is a critical need in the fight against global climate change.

Today, our mission is simple.

We’ve built a game-changing platform, Desidera, that integrates the massive potential of satellite data (which, in our opinion, is the new technological frontier) with sophisticated modeling to produce innovative risk analyses that align with our mission: Desidera fuels climate resilience, reduces cross-sector loss and damage, helps anticipate and counteract global price and supply chain volatility, and protects lives and livelihoods.

As we continue to evolve and adapt, our focus remains steadfast on this mission of ours. We hope you stay tuned with our story as we work toward a more sustainable and equitable future, where all of us can thrive and contribute to a healthier planet. Want to learn more about Desidera’s real impact on the ground? Check out our projects here.