ADIS AI began with a problem its co-founder, Sujit, experienced firsthand on his own dairy farm. After vaccinating his herd consistently for years, Sujit still experienced a severe outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Months later, he discovered that the vaccine batch supplied to the farm had not been stored at the required temperature.
The situation worsened when insurance claims for affected animals were rejected because some animals had lost their ear tags. Without verifiable identification, the claims could not be processed. The experience exposed a wider challenge in livestock systems: animals often lack reliable, permanent identities that can connect them to trusted health, ownership and insurance records.
Health records can be fragmented, insurance verification difficult and disease tracking weak. Livestock owners may struggle to prove ownership, value or vaccination history in ways that financial institutions, insurers and public systems can verify. According to the ADIS AI team, more than a quarter of the value in the dairy ecosystem is lost through poor monitoring, disease, fraud and inefficient herd management.
The solution: A biometric digital identity for every animal
Founded in December 2019, the Animal Digital Information System (ADIS) was developed to address this gap. The biometric and AI-powered livestock management platform creates digital identities for animals using nose-print recognition, supported by photographs, videos, farm records and optional IoT sensors. Like a human fingerprint, each animal’s nose print is unique and can provide a permanent form of identification.
Through a smartphone application, farmers can register animals and build lifetime digital records covering ownership, vaccination, disease management, milk production, breeding and insurance documentation. The platform supports cattle, sheep, goats, camels, horses and dogs, and currently operates in India and Saudi Arabia. Designed for varied operating environments, the app works offline in low-connectivity areas and supports around ten Indian languages, as well as Arabic and English.
Farmers can use the platform free of charge. ADIS AI generates revenue from institutions that rely on verified livestock information, including banks, insurers, governments and development organisations. The model is designed to widen farmer access while building institutional partnerships around trusted livestock records.
Technology in action: From paper records to real-time tracking
ADIS AI has been used in large-scale livestock operations in Saudi Arabia through partnerships with FAO and the United Nations. In herds numbering thousands of animals, digital monitoring tools are used to identify early signs of illness before outbreaks spread widely. Vaccination records are linked to each animal’s unique identity, while livestock census activities that were previously paper-based can be tracked in real time.
In India, ADIS AI has been integrated into vaccination and livestock management programmes. Field officers can track vaccination histories and trace vaccine batches to specific animals, addressing the same verification gap that contributed to the outbreak on Sujit’s farm. The platform has also been used in a women-focused dairy development programme implemented with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and HDFC Bank.
One thousand women, and a herd built from zero
| 1,000 Women dairy farmers enrolled at programme launch | 3,000+ Animals in the herd after 18 months, up from zero | 3x Growth in milk collection per farmer over 1.5 years |
The programme supported 1,000 women entering dairy farming, with ADIS AI providing livestock valuation and identification to help banks and insurers verify animal ownership and value. Each animal was assessed against 33 scientific parameters using BMI and BCS indices, giving lenders and insurers a verified basis for valuing the asset. Animals were digitally registered, insured and monitored through the platform. Daily milk production, typically 12 to 15 litres per animal, was tracked, and sharp drops in output triggered alerts to the local veterinarian, paravet, bank manager and insurance company. This created a shared monitoring system around the animal rather than leaving the farmer to manage a problem alone.
Within 18 months, the programme grew from zero to more than 3,000 animals across participating households. According to the ADIS AI team, participating women expanded their herds from one animal to three on average, while milk collection increased threefold over the programme period. The results were achieved through a wider programme supported by IIM Ahmedabad and HDFC Bank, with ADIS AI providing the livestock identification, valuation and monitoring infrastructure.
“From zero to 3,000 animals in two and a half years — and the milk collection rose three times. It was a systematic programme supported by IIM Ahmedabad and HDFC Bank, and we are tracking it live.”
Sujit, Co-Founder, ADIS AI
ADIS AI reports engaging more than 50,000 farmers across India and Saudi Arabia through training and deployment programmes. The platform also integrates with India’s National Livestock Mission, linking government-issued ear tag numbers with biometric records rather than treating the two systems as competing identifiers. According to one insurance partner, the use of ADIS AI reduced previous fraud losses by more than 40 percent by preventing duplicate claims and animal substitution at the point of claim.
The experience points to a wider lesson: livestock identification becomes more valuable when it connects different parts of the system. Verified records can support lending, insurance claims, disease surveillance and livestock census processes, while giving farmers formal histories for assets that can otherwise be difficult to document. ADIS AI is also applying this approach to antimicrobial resistance management by tracking antibiotic use over an animal’s lifetime to inform treatment decisions.
For many rural households, livestock are among their most valuable assets, yet without reliable records those assets can remain difficult to verify. ADIS AI’s experience shows how persistent digital identity can connect livestock records across financial, insurance and public systems. Maintaining trust and interoperability will be central as the company expands.