Walmart's Big AI Training Push

The biggest food news this week came from Walmart's partnership with OpenAI announced in September 2025. The company will give free AI training to all its workers in the United States through something called Walmart Academy. This is part of a huge $1 billion plan to teach workers new skills through 2026. This matters because Walmart is one of the world's largest food sellers, and when they train their workers on AI, it affects how millions of people buy and get their food.

Farms Getting Smarter Before Planting

Farm research is changing from guessing to knowing what will work. Brian Lutz from Corteva, a company that makes seeds, explained that "We're moving from screening and selection to more prediction." This means instead of planting different seeds and seeing what grows best, AI can tell farmers what will work before they even put seeds in the ground. Companies can now "find types of hits that we would never find without AI-enabled discovery." This could mean better food and more of it for everyone.

For people who invest money in farm companies, this is great news. AI makes research faster and cheaper. Companies can test their ideas on computers before spending money on real farms. This means new farming technology will reach farmers much quicker than before.

Data Sharing Becomes Make-or-Break

Good information sharing is now the difference between AI success and failure in food systems. Elliot Grant from Mineral (a farming AI company) said it simply: "If we get the data layer wrong, everything else fails. AI needs good data the way crops need good soil." Many AI projects are failing not because the technology is bad, but because companies won't share their information with each other.

Corteva and other smart companies are now treating data like a product they manage carefully. They have people whose only job is to make sure information is correct and can be shared safely. This creates big opportunities for new companies that help farms and food businesses share information better.

AI Agents Working as Teams

The next big step is AI systems working together instead of just doing one job each. Ranveer Chandra from Microsoft described the future as "lots of tiny models which are agents that can learn and make decisions on their own." These AI agents could automatically change when farmers plant crops, move food trucks to avoid traffic, and even fill out government paperwork.

Walmart is already showing how this works with their automated food storage centers. These centers use AI to manage food inventory, plan truck routes, and schedule workers all at the same time. When AI systems work together like this, they save much more money and time than when they work alone.

Money Changes in Farm Technology

Starting a farm technology company now costs much less money because of AI. Chuck Templeton, who invests in farm companies, said "Instead of watching these businesses burn two million a month, now you can burn 250k a month and get a lot more runway." This means entrepreneurs can try their farming AI ideas without needing huge amounts of money upfront.

This change lets new companies grow at the same speed as farming instead of trying to go too fast. Farming changes slowly, so companies that can survive longer with less money have a better chance of success.

Preparing Workers for AI Changes

Training workers is crucial for AI success in food systems. Companies that teach their employees how to use AI early will do much better than those that wait. The Walmart-OpenAI partnership shows how serious food companies are about preparing their workers for an AI future.

AI won't replace farm experts and food workers, but it will change how they do their jobs. Companies are learning they need to start training now, not wait until AI systems are fully ready.

What Comes Next

The next 12 months will be huge for AI in food systems. Expect many farm technology companies to get large amounts of investment money as they prove their AI works. Big food companies will stop testing AI and start using it for their daily operations across research, moving food, and following government rules.

This shift will likely start the first major buying and selling of farm AI companies, as seed companies, robot makers, and food brands compete to own the best AI systems. The companies that move fast on AI training and data sharing will have the biggest advantages as the food system becomes more automated and intelligent.