Agtonomy hopes its technology can solve agriculture’s most immediate and pressing problems including labor scarcity, climate change, and shrinking profit margins. | Source: Agtonomy
Agtonomy recently raised an additional $10 million to close its Series A round, bringing total funding to $32.8 million. The South San Francisco-based company said this investment, combined with its commercial offerings and business model, positions it for accelerated growth and market expansion over the next few years.
Agtonomy creates retrofit kits to make average farm equipment autonomous. Its autonomous systems cover a variety of tasks, including mowing, spraying, weeding, and transport. The company said its sensor suite enables the system to perceive its surroundings day and night.
Founded by farmers, Agtonomy said it provides software, services, and technology to provide autonomy to partners in the equipment value chain for rapid commercialization. The company claimed that by embedding its intelligence into brand-name tractors and implements, it can digitally transform machinery into a remote-operated, task-driven ecosystem for safe, equitable, profitable, and climate-smart agriculture.
Agtonomy addresses agriculture challenges
Agtonomy said its latest funding will advance its mission to address labor, profitability, and climate-change challenges. The developer of AI-enabled automation software for agriculture and land maintenance aims to do this through “advanced automation for industrial equipment fleet management.”
Its retrofit kits include on-board computing, an energy module to enable around-the-clock operation, support different implements, and TrunkVision, which enables tractors to navigate within centimeter-level precision of specialty crops. Agtonomy said its technology can tackle almost any task with 120 HP peak and 54 HP continuous.
The company also noted that its technology allows operators to control their equipment remotely as well as autonomously.
To help farmers understand their equipment’s output, Agtonomy also offers the TeleFarmer app, which puts useful information into one interface. With the app, farmers can assign tasks, set missions, and manage their fields.
While the tractor is at work, a farmer can also use TeleFarmer to monitor its progress, track equipment health, and receive notifications. Once the task is completed, the app provides performance reports so farmers can optimize operations in the future.
Mobile automation gets funding fuel
Autotech Ventures, a mobility venture fund, led the round. New investors included Rethink Food, Allison Transmission, and Black Forest Ventures. Existing backers Toyota Ventures, Flybridge, and Cavallo Partners continued their support.
“Agtonomy’s innovative approach aligns with our mission to revolutionize mobility and automation across various sectors, starting with off-road autonomy,” stated Alexei Andreev, founding partner of Autotech Ventures.
“Their unique business model, which combines software expertise with established OEM partnerships, positions them to lead the transformation to autonomous fleet management,” he added. “We look forward to supporting Agtonomy’s experienced team as they address critical labor shortages and sustainability challenges in these industries.”
Agtonomy’s immediate growth plans include scaling its West Coast technical team into new markets, expanding its 2025 paid pilot program for permanent crops by 500%, and developing technology solutions for other industrial markets that seek world-class automation to improve margins.
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Agtonomy board of directors grows
Sterling Anderson will join Agtonomy’s board of directors. He led the team that created the original Tesla Autopilot and who is co-founder and chief product officer of on-road autonomy developer Aurora.
“Agriculture is a vast and essential element of the human experience. Autonomy can make it better,” said Anderson. “I’ve been impressed with Agtonomy’s approach, focus, and execution to date and look forward to advising them on this important journey.”
In addition, in May, Agtonomy announced that Jorge Heraud, formerly John Deere’s vice president of automation and autonomy, joined the board, which includes both co-founders Tim Bucher and Valerie Syme, as well as Jim Meyer, former SiriusXM CEO and current vice chair.
“By bringing together some of the most impactful technology leaders, our Board is enabling additional firepower in corporate strategy and governance to bring Agtonomy to its full potential,” said Syme, co-founder and chief operating officer of Agtonomy.
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