A.J. Kumar of Indigo Ag: Hidden Connections: Regenerative Agriculture and Data Centers
AI has incredible potential to reshape sustainable agriculture, but the increasing demand for energy-intensive data centers raises questions about its land, water, and carbon footprint. At the same time, regenerative agriculture offers scalable, measurable pathways to carbon sequestration, soil health, and rural resilience. In this talk, A.J. Kumar (Stanford ’07), VP of Sustainability Sciences at Indigo Ag, will discuss how advances in AI can improve agricultural outcomes, possibilities to mitigate the environmental costs of data infrastructure, and how corporate investment in regenerative agriculture can create verifiable climate benefits while strengthening rural economies.
Speaker bio: A.J. Kumar (Stanford '07) uses his physics background to measure actionable signals out of noisy backgrounds. He is Vice President of Sustainability Sciences at Indigo Ag, leading science strategy and innovation for sustainable agriculture. He has built partnerships across the non-profit, academic, and for-profit domain and worked with farmers and ranchers on testing new technologies and practices in production settings including driving innovation in soil carbon quantification. Indigo Carbon has delivered nearly 1,000,000 registry-issued carbon credits across a project spanning multiple years and millions of acres. Prior to Indigo, A.J. was the Chief Scientific Officer at Jana Care where he built the R&D team in Boston from the ground up, and led the development of multiple low-cost, point-of-care rapid blood tests for chronic diseases, including partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies. He has a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University and a BS in Physics from Stanford University. He has authored over 20 publications, is an inventor on over 10 patents and patent applications, and has given a TEDx talk.
Indigo Ag: Powered by science and technology, Indigo Ag helps farmers and agribusinesses optimize today’s yields and profitability, while nourishing the soil for better tomorrows. The company’s biotrinsic® natural microbial solutions help farmers maximize crop performance by empowering plants to combat environmental and biological stresses and improve nutrient access. Indigo's Sustainability solutions include its carbon and sustainable crop programs that enable farmers to choose how to best profit from their sustainable practices while promoting practices that help land keep its value for future generations. Established in 2013 and operating in 15 countries around the world, Indigo Ag turns on-the-farm sustainable practice into value for farmers, agribusinesses, and companies.
Boxed lunches will be provided for all attendees who register by Friday, Oct. 3rd, 2025
About the series: The Stanford Food Speaker Series aims to engage, inform, and connect the Stanford community with innovations, policies, agendas, and insights from leading experts in food and agriculture. Current sponsoring partners include: Bio-X, the Center on Food Security and the Environment, the Center for Ocean Solutions, the Center for Human and Planetary Health and the Sustainability Accelerator.