Epoch gets $4.25 million to check farm sources for small importers

Epoch, a startup in London, got $4.25 million in seed funding, and its total funding is at this time $6.26 million. Epoch uses AI that reads satellite and map data, and software agents, to find the farms where cocoa, coffee and rubber come from. It checks them for deforestation and legal risks, and this month it launched a tool for small firms.

How it works

Burnt Island Ventures and Sand River led the funding.

A user gives the names of suppliers. Epoch finds the sites and plots of the suppliers and checks the risks. It then makes a due diligence statement with a source for each result, for the TRACES system of the EU.

The numbers

• The EU rules apply to large operators and medium operators from 30 December 2026.
• Most micro operators and small operators follow on 30 June 2027.
• Epoch has 14 staff.

In June 2026, Epoch looked at coffee plots on the free forest map of the EU. It said that the map gave an incorrect risk sign for 75% of them.

What is not known

No test of Epoch by a different group is given. The test that counts comes after 30 December. It is not known if authorities will accept satellite plot data when suppliers do not reply.

Insight: Epoch’s own test shows why the regulator decides

Epoch said in June 2026 that one EU map gave an incorrect risk sign for 75% of the coffee plots it looked at. Its new tool makes a statement without a reply from suppliers. Maybe the tool works only if authorities accept its results, and their first accepted statements can set who gets the market. Until then, it is not known if such statements are correct.