A Belfast technology firm that uses artificial intelligence to analyse video of dairy herds says it will expand its research and development operation and add 20 staff, reinforcing its role inside a global farming equipment group.

CattleEye, founded in 2019 and now part of Germany’s GEA Farm Technologies, has been folded into the larger company’s digital offering since GEA completed the acquisition in March 2024, the acquirer said in a corporate announcement. The deal brought the start-up’s camera-and-software system for early lameness detection and body condition monitoring into GEA’s wider portfolio of animal-health and herd-management tools.

The company’s monitoring technology is deployed across farms in multiple continents, with the vendor’s own materials and recent statements citing use on more than 140 farms and oversight of roughly 200,000 cattle in over 20 countries; independent company updates have previously reported figures in excess of 150,000 animals under surveillance as the product suite expanded to include body condition scoring. Industry commentary highlights the hardware-light approach as a shift from wearable sensors towards camera-based, software-driven herd monitoring.

Invest Northern Ireland has offered financial support for the project, underwriting part of the planned R&D work as the company scales its team. The public body’s backing is aimed at securing roles such as software engineers and user-experience executives and ensuring the hires are established in Northern Ireland rather than elsewhere; the company expects the new personnel to be in place by 2027.

The expansion follows a strategy to deepen the product’s integration with GEA’s existing herd-management systems, with promises of new capabilities that the company says will reduce reliance on additional on-farm equipment and help farmers lower treatment rates through earlier detection. GEA and CattleEye materials describe the integration as part of a Next Generation Farming approach that places animal welfare and data-led productivity at the centre of investment decisions.

Terry Canning, CattleEye co-founder and a senior director at GEA, said in a statement: "Investing in our AI livestock system is an important step in our ambition to grow the business and increase our market share against our competitors. It will be a significant milestone to integrate CattleEye into GEA’s state-of-the-art herd management systems and to extend the digital footprint in farming." He added: "These aspired new functionalities mean farmers can expect offerings which help reduce additional investments in equipment that often aren’t accurate and reduce the extent of necessary animal treatment. It will also help customers to farm more efficiently and cut greenhouse gas emissions by using automated data."

Vicky Kell, director of innovation, research and development at Invest NI, described the award of support as a vote of confidence in the region’s research and development capabilities and said the collaboration had helped ensure the new jobs would be based in Northern Ireland. The move comes amid a growing market for sensor-free and camera-based herd monitoring, where other providers also seek to deliver continuous health and fertility alerts to farmers without wearable devices.