Trouw Nutrition partners with QuantumBasel to advance AI-driven animal nutrition research

EUROPE – Trouw Nutrition, part of Nutreco, has entered a partnership with QuantumBasel to apply advanced artificial intelligence and quantum computing to one of the animal nutrition industry’s largest proprietary research datasets.

The collaboration will combine Trouw Nutrition’s more than 600 proprietary studies, decades of research from its animal research facilities, and a growing body of omics data with QuantumBasel’s expertise in quantum computing, advanced AI, and algorithm development.

The companies said the partnership aims to uncover patterns across species, production systems, and biological conditions at a level of detail not previously achievable, to improve nutrition precision and decision-making for livestock producers worldwide.

QuantumBasel, which has emerged as one of Switzerland’s leading centers for quantum innovation and advanced computing, will provide the computational infrastructure and AI capabilities for the project.

Trouw Nutrition said the initiative represents an early but deliberate step toward integrating next-generation computing technologies into animal nutrition research.

“Bringing this computational capability together with our nutritional and biological expertise opens up the ability to uncover patterns across species, production systems, and conditions at a resolution that wasn’t previously achievable.

“It will then translate those insights into more precise nutrition decisions for producers worldwide,” the company stated.

Expanding data science and precision nutrition

The partnership builds on Trouw Nutrition’s broader investment in data science, modeling, and precision farming technologies across poultry, swine, ruminant, and aquaculture production systems. 

The company operates a global R&D network involving specialized research teams focused on modeling, predictive nutrition, and biological data analysis, supported by collaborations with universities and commercial validation farms worldwide. 

Industry experts increasingly see AI and advanced computing as tools that could help livestock producers optimize feed efficiency, animal health, and sustainability outcomes while managing rising production costs and stricter environmental targets.

Quantum computing, although still at an early commercial stage, is attracting growing interest in agriculture because of its potential to process highly complex biological and molecular datasets beyond the capability of conventional computing systems.

Earlier this year, Syngenta also partnered with QuantumBasel to explore the use of quantum computing in crop science and agricultural R&D. 

Trouw Nutrition has not yet disclosed specific commercial applications or timelines for the project, but said further developments are expected as the collaboration progresses.

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