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Implantable microchips and AI for cattle monitoring

Nexa is developing the solution for cattle monitoring, leveraging implantable microchips that collect more comprehensive biometrics than anything else on the market. Our accompanying AI-driven animal health engine empowers farmers with early disease detection, reproductive insights, GPS tracking, and more. We're saving farmers time and money while collecting the world's largest cattle health dataset. We believe that cattle farming should be a science, not an art - this will secure the world's food supply and increase economic output that billions of people depend on.
Active Founders
Zarif Azher
Zarif Azher
Founder
Previously built medical devices, biosensors, and AI for healthcare. Now building microchips for cattle monitoring!
Kenneth Chan
Kenneth Chan
Founder
Prev @ Caltech. Now building the future of livestock health monitoring.
Samuel Xie
Samuel Xie
Founder
Research in RL, computational neuro, and integrated biosensor systems. Currently working on health tracking through minimally invasive bio-devices.
Alvin Zhang
Alvin Zhang
Founder
Prev @ Caltech. Building implantable microchips for cattle health monitoring
Company Launches
Nexa Labs: Implantable Microchips for Cattle Monitoring
See original launch post

TLDR: Nexa builds implantable “FitBits” + AI for cattle monitoring. We empower farmers with early disease detection and reproductive insights that save them time and money.

https://youtu.be/goioQTngpSU

Problem

Efficiently monitoring cattle health and reproduction is critical to maintain farm profitability. But the traditional practice of manually inspecting animals doesn’t scale - labor costs add up, while farms miss disease outbreaks and breeding cycles. Disease alone causes ~$100 billion in losses yearly for cattle farms globally.

Existing tech for monitoring cattle includes external wearables like collars and ear-tags. Being outside thick cattle skin, these can’t accurately track useful biometrics beyond “activity” (a glorified step-count). There’s also boluses, pill-shaped devices that sit in the cow stomach. But these are super expensive, have short battery life, and can’t be used for beef cattle.

Solution

Nexa is building implantable microchips that go underneath the skin in the ear of cattle. We analyze vital biometrics - like temperature, heart rate, blood oxygen, activity, GPS location, and more - that other systems miss, to empower farmers with early disease detection and reproductive insights. And because our electronics operate at millimeter scale, we benefit from low production costs and pricing up to 70% cheaper than current solutions.

Our hardware also enables collection of the world’s largest cattle health dataset - so, we can develop foundation models that can unlock new possibilities in farm management and livestock pharma.

We’re currently launching our dairy pilot program - if you know any dairy farmers based in the USA, please send them our way at admin@nexa.farm :)

About Us

We’re a team of Caltech dropouts with backgrounds in bioengineering, electrical engineering, CS, math, and physics. We want to build technology that makes a tangible impact on the lives of real people in America and beyond.

YC Photos
Hear from the founders

How did your company get started? (i.e., How did the founders meet? How did you come up with the idea? How did you decide to be a founder?)

We all met as undergrads at Caltech. Before becoming co-founders, we became close friends. We are brought together by a shared desire to build technology that impacts real people in America and beyond.

Nexa Labs
Founded:2025
Batch:Summer 2025
Team Size:5
Status:
Active
Location:San Francisco
Primary Partner:Diana Hu