INDIANAPOLIS – A 400-sow study has validated the effectiveness of Verility Inc.’s fertility analysis technology, Fertile-Eyez™, in sow insemination protocols. The study demonstrated that using this AI-driven platform delivers comparable pregnancy and embryo rates to traditional breeding methods, while utilizing fewer semen doses, reducing heat tests, and lowering boar exposure days. This ultimately contributes to a reduction in overall breeding system labor and a strong return on investment.
Verility CEO Liane Hart highlighted that the use of the patented Fertile-Eyez technology resulted in a 1.6 return on investment for swine breeders and producers. Hart, with a background in animal sciences and breeding from Purdue University, explained the practical advantages of the technology. “Both protocols delivered comparable performance, but the Verility protocol ultimately required only an average of 1.15 inseminations per sow compared to two per the standard breeding protocol,” she said. “So a single insemination using Fertile-Eyez as part of the protocol had a comparable rate to traditional double insemination.”
Benefits of incorporating Fertile-Eyez into sow insemination include:
- A 40% reduction in semen doses.
- A 45% reduction in boar heat tests.
- A 20% reduction in boar exposure days.
- A 38% pregnancy rate in nonstanding heat sows, which are often culled
- A 24% reduction in overall system labor.
- A reduction in nonproductive sow days.
- A 91% overall conception rate.
“These results provide an opportunity to use high-indexing boar semen to accelerate genetic improvement in each herd,” Hart stated. “Because we used fewer semen doses, we can now use the higher-indexing boars, which delivers a more productive and highly improved genetic-quality animal.”
Amanda Minton, manager of swine reproductive solutions at AcuFast, which partnered with Verility for the study, noted, “We have never seen results this positive with other ovulation interventions.” Minton also pointed out, “An additional benefit is that Fertile-Eyez is a diagnostic that works with the biology of the animal and not a hormone that is used to force ovulation.”
As a result of the study, Verility has received the final installment of a $4 million funding round from Mountain Group Partners, a venture capital firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. Rob Readnour, managing director at Mountain Group Partners, expressed his enthusiasm: “We are very excited about the progress and potential of Verility to transform production animal fertility through its Fertile-Eyez diagnostic and analytics platform. We believe that Fertile-Eyez will play an important role in reducing labor and increasing production efficiency while accelerating genetic progress going forward.”
Hart plans to share the study’s findings with breeders and producers to expand Verility’s reach. “From this point onward, we are looking to conduct customer trials throughout 2025 and into 2026, picking up potential letters of intent and purchase orders,” she explained. “And we’re also looking to close out a Series A-2 round of funding in July for initial commercialization efforts.”
Verility holds exclusive licensing rights to intellectual property originally developed and validated in humans by leading researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Hart emphasized that the technology has been validated across various species and applications. She added, “These AI-driven technologies enable ovulation detection and semen analysis, leveraging smartphone-enabled solutions to deliver unprecedented accuracy and accessibility. Our portfolio includes issued patents across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. With applications in both human and animal health, our technology stands at the forefront of reproductive diagnostics, empowering users with next-generation solutions that drive scientific advancement and global accessibility.”
Verility, a Purdue Strategic Ventures portfolio company, originally began marketing Fertile-Eyez with a focus on semen quality analysis. However, the company has since pivoted to focus on ovulation, which Hart considers “the Holy Grail of animal breeding.” She noted the complexity of ovulation, influenced by external factors and detection challenges. “The traditional way to determine which animals to inseminate and when has been done the same way for decades, whereas our work has validated the use of pioneering technology and data to make the process simpler, faster, and more efficient and profitable for breeders and producers.”
About Verility
Verility Inc. is a central Indiana startup focused on disrupting and optimizing breeding and fertility in animal health using image recognition and proprietary algorithms. This technology offers mobile product attributes that are offered at affordable rates to industry players.
About Mountain Group Partners
Mountain Group Partners (“MGP”) is an investor dedicated to investing in and actively guiding transformational businesses in the life sciences, animal health and technology sectors.
About Purdue Strategic Ventures
Purdue Strategic Ventures provides strategic support, early-stage investment, and community activation for Purdue-connected venture-scale startups.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research university.
