One can’t accuse Bonsai Robotics of lacking focus. The Bay Area-based firm is starting with trees — specifically nut trees. Like most labor-intensive sectors these days, farms have suffered fr
The future is very much yet to be written about vertical farming. In many ways, the technology presents hope in the midst of rising food safety concerns, aging populations and potential environmental
Monarch Tractor this morning announced the delivery of its first MK-V unit. The “smart tractor” is electric and what the Bay Area-based company refers to as “driver optional” (terms like “au
That’s not a typo. $310 million, with a zero at the end. This latest round brings Gotham Greens’ total funding up to $440 million since its 2009 launch. The nine-digit raise was led by BMO Impact
The rest of the startup universe may be struggling to bring in funds, but it’s still a good time to get a robotic raise. Agtech is high on that list. The median age of farmers is 55 years old in the
Like many in the New York area, Gotham Greens first grabbed my attention by way of the greenhouses they installed on Brooklyn’s first Whole Foods location. The sight of the four glass structures ato
Not going to lie, IUNU (pronounced “you knew”) is not the easiest name (further confusing matters is the presence of a robot called “LUNA”). But the agtech firm is involved in a solid business
Amazon-owned robotaxi firm Zoox this week announced that it has acquired Strio.AI. The Boston-based robotics startup was founded in 2020 by MIT alumns to bring autonomous picking and pruning to strawb
Agtech is a massive industry aching to be disrupted by robotics. It’s a big category that’s going to require a number of solutions to various problems, though lately it’s been hit by a number of
We’ve been charting Traptic’s progress ever since the South Bay-based startup appeared on the Disrupt Battlefield stage back in 2019. The company carved out a potentially meaningful agtech niche i
IRobot announced Terra three years ago this week. After making some tough internal decisions to delay launch back in 2020, the robot mower is still MIA. For those with a lot of grass and far less time
Brooklyn-based Upward Farms this week unveiled plans to launch a massive 250,000-square-foot vertical farm. Set for an early-2023 opening, the site will be located in Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Luz
The 8R tractor has been in select customers’ hands for “a few seasons” now, according to John Deere. After all, like any kind of autonomous machinery, a self-driving tractor isn’t the kind of
Europe-based vertical farming firm Infarm this week announced a $200 million Series D. The round, led by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), follows last year’s $170 million raise. It pushes the c
During the good number of hours I’ve spent researching and writing about vertical farming in recent months, one key word keeps popping up: proximity. So many of the resources spent on modern farming
It was going to be a big couple of years for agricultural robotics well before COVID-19 was on our collective radar. Population growth and environmental concerns have been big drivers for those workin
Way back in March, autonomous tractor maker Monarch announced a $20 million Series A. Now, a mere eight months later, the company is tripling the round, with a $61 million Series B. This latest raise
Roughly two hours pass between my initial email and our first Zoom chat — on a Sunday, no less. I skip the post-gym shower and pop on a baseball cap, because I’m not sure when the opportunity will
Burro first crossed our path during our 2020 robotics event, when the agtech company competed in our pitch off. The company (which used to go by the decidedly less fun name Augean) appears to be movin
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