Celebrating Leadership and Innovation on International Women in Engineering Day (IWED)
Key Highlights
- AgriPass Robotics is a women-led company innovating in AI-powered weed control technology for sustainable agriculture.
- The leadership team includes women scientists, engineers, and business professionals, emphasizing diversity as a strength.
- Founded by Dr. Sharon Shacham and Adi Vegman, the company combines scientific innovation with entrepreneurial vision.
- The company's robotic system, RHIC, uses deep learning and computer vision to identify crops and weeds in real time.
- AgriPass demonstrates the importance of inclusive leadership in advancing engineering solutions for global food security.
On this International Women in Engineering Day (IWED), Vision Systems Design is proud to spotlight AgriPass Robotics, a company founded and led by women, advancing sustainable solutions in agricultural technology. AgriPass is a great example of how diverse talents and perspectives across leadership, engineering, and business contribute to meaningful innovation with global impact.
Founded just two-and-a-half years ago, AgriPass Robotics is driven by a vision to forever change weed control, a continual challenge for farmers that directly influences global food security.
Traditional practices of using herbicides and tillage have led to resistant weeds, soil erosion, and environmental concerns, while labor shortages add pressure on the agriculture sector.
The company addresses these challenges with its AI-powered robotics technology that mimics the precision and care of hand-weeding but at greater speed and scale. Let's meet the women of AgriPass Robotics.
Dr. Sharon Shacham brings decades of scientific and entrepreneurial expertise to AgriPass as chair of the board and co-founder. Best known for founding Karyopharm, where her discoveries led to breakthrough blood cancer treatments, Shacham now channels her leadership and vision into advancing sustainable agricultural technology. Her strategic guidance ensures AgriPass remains focused on innovation that balances environmental stewardship with practical solutions for growers worldwide.
Adi Vagman is an experienced AgTech investor and entrepreneur whose vision helped inspire the founding of AgriPass. With deep knowledge of agricultural innovation, Vagman plays a key role in shaping the company's long-term strategy and supporting the development of deep tech solutions that address real challenges faced by farmers. Her commitment to sustainability and smart farming is reflected in AgriPass’s mission to revolutionize weed control with precision robotics.
At the helm of AgriPass’s growth and global expansion is CEO Liron Yanay, who brings extensive business leadership and a background in automotive and electric vehicle industries. Yanay’s expertise in driving new technology adoption enables the company to successfully translate advanced robotics and AI into practical farming solutions. Under her leadership, AgriPass continues to break new ground by delivering automation that empowers farmers around the world.
The technology itself is revolutionary thanks in large part to Mor Alon Berg and her expertise in developing the deep learning and computer vision algorithms that power AgriPass’s robotic systems. Berg’s work enables the robot—named RHIC (robot of human-inspired cultivation)—to identify crops and weeds with exceptional precision, making real-time cultivation decisions that mimic the careful actions of manual weeding. Her innovative algorithms are the “brain” behind the robot’s ability to perform selective and adaptive tilling, which uproots weeds based on their type and location while minimizing soil disruption and preserving crop health.
Supporting the company’s growth strategy is Klil Zaibert, whose skills in strategic planning, market analysis, and business development are a big part of AgriPass’s success. Zaibert helps guide the company through complex market conditions by interpreting data and industry trends, ensuring that AgriPass’s innovative technology reaches the farmers who need it most. Her work supports sustainable scaling and strengthens the company’s connections within the agricultural community, making AgriPass a trusted partner to growers.
Amanda Ditzler plays a major role in connecting AgriPass’s mission and technology to growers, researchers, and partners worldwide. As the head of communications and marketing, Amanda leads outreach efforts that raise awareness of the company’s cutting-edge robotic solution for sustainable farming. Her engagement with industry stakeholders ensures that the company’s story of innovation, environmental stewardship, and efficiency reaches a broad audience, helping to build a supportive global community.
Click above to read Vision Systems Design's article about AgriPass Robotics' AI-enabled weeding system, which combines machine vision and adaptive manipulators with an autonomous platform that offers scalable, efficient weed management tailored for small to medium farms, promoting environmental health.
AgriPass demonstrates that inclusive leadership, diverse expertise, and collaboration are key to driving innovation in engineering and sustainable agriculture. “Women have the unique ability to operate across multiple interfaces at the same time,” Shacham told Vision Systems Design. “Emotional intelligence is essential in the early stages of entrepreneurship when you’re building something entirely new.”
With more than 50% women represented on its board of directors and women playing essential roles across engineering, marketing and business functions, AgriPass reflects a commitment to diversity as a source of strength and creativity.
Editor’s Note: Vision Systems Design’s WISE (Workers in Science and Engineering) hub features our coverage of workplace issues in engineering as well as insights from equity-seeking groups and subject matter experts across disciplines.
About the Author
Sharon Spielman
Head of Content
Sharon Spielman joined Vision Systems Design in January 2026. She has more than three decades of experience as a writer and editor for a range of B2B brands, most recently as technical editor for VSD's sister brand Machine Design, covering industrial automation, mechanical design and manufacturing, medical device design, aerospace and defense, CAD/CAM, additive manufacturing, and more.