Chirrup.ai tackles problems of biodiversity monitoring helping landowners and food supply chain to better manage natural capital. Craig Hutchison, co-founder and CFO of Chirrup.ai Spoke to us about their innovative approach to tracking biodiversity using bird song. What was the genesis of Chirrup? The idea for Chirrup was sparked during the lockdown, a time when the usual city noise had decreased and the sound of birds became more prominent. Chirrup.AI founder, Conrad Young, realised the potential to use these natural sounds as indicators for assessing biodiversity. Building on his expertise in regenerative agriculture, he quickly turned this idea into the foundation of our company, securing initial support from environmental and retail organisations to develop AI-driven biodiversity monitoring technologies. Could you explain how Chirrup's technology works and what makes it unique? Our technology employs a convolutional neural network to analyse audio recordings of birds, which are converted into spectrograms. This method allows us to not just identify species but also to gauge the health of their habitats. They all tell you something different about the ecosystem, the strength of your hedgerow, the quality of your water, or the state of your woodland. Birds act as sentinels for environmental changes. By decoding their songs, we develop a dynamic map of ecological health, it's a non-invasive, scalable way to assess environmental health across large areas, making it a valuable tool for land managers and conservation efforts. How does Chirrup integrate its technology within the agricultural sector? Our approach involves partnering with large agricultural intermediaries and supermarkets rather than charging farmers directly. This strategy helps distribute the costs and benefits of sustainable practices more broadly, ensuring that farmers aren't financially burdened. By working this way, we aim to facilitate widespread sustainable practices. What is the primary problem Chirrup aims to solve? Chirrup focuses on the challenge of effectively measuring and managing biodiversity. By using bird-based indicators, we simplify the way ecological health is monitored, making it understandable and actionable. Our goal is to influence better land management and policy-making, with a broader aim of reversing biodiversity loss. How has the AI accelerator experience at the University of Edinburgh impacted Chirrup? The AI Accelerator sessions were invaluable. They didn’t just broaden our understanding but sharpened our focus, making our value proposition clear and compelling to our primary customers. It allowed us to refine our business model, particularly by helping us recognise the importance of focusing on food processing intermediaries as our main clients. The workshops and expert advice we received honed our product development and sales strategies. The program didn’t just adjust our path—it also reassured us that we were focusing on the right elements of our business at the right time. The networking opportunities expanded our perspectives and provided avenues for collaborations. The program was a boost for our entire team not just the founders, enhancing skills and strengthening our overall approach. What are Chirrup’s plans for future growth and development? We've got a lot of work to do! We’ve been focussing on proving ourselves and securing some big deals andare now looking to strengthen our position in the UK. We plan to expand our technology to integrate more diverse data sets and adapt our operations for global coverage. Given the UK's leadership in biodiversity management, we are well-positioned to expand to Europe and then to the US, and even the southern hemisphere during their summer months. Our aim is to establish a model in the UK that can be replicated worldwide, advocating for sustainable agricultural practices and enhanced biodiversity management. This article was published on 2025-08-20
