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Larry Ellison ’s leap into farming with his company , Sensei Farms , help up a classic reminder : being a whiz in one arena does n’t entail winner in another . Asthe WSJ account , the Oracle co - founder set out to reinvent agriculture on Hawaii ’s Lāna’i Island , which he scooped up for $ 300 million back in 2012 . Eight years and more than $ 500 million later , the project is still floundering .
Ellison stargaze of AI - powered greenhouses and golem harvesters feeding the mankind sustainably . or else , Sensei has been trip out up by tech snarl — like Wi - Fi issues and solar panels battered by Lanai ’s winds — and rookie mistakes . Think greenhouses designed for Israel ’s desert climate , when Lāna’i is typically muggy . The company also mixed mature and child plants together , a pattern for a pest paradise .
Sensei , co - founded by amedical doctorandled currentlyby a tech White House who runs Sensei from Boston , has had small wins , report the WSJ . Its lettuce and cherry Lycopersicon esculentum now appear at the island ’s few local markets and eating house . But unvarying time lag , leadership shake - ups , and high-priced blunders , including cannabis grow business firm that take to be gutted and rebuilt , highlight a tough truth : even bottomless funding is no match for the difficult lessons of a specialised manufacture .
Above : Larry Ellison and his Colorado - beginner in Sensei Farms , David Agus
