Based at Y-Parc in Yverdon-les-Bains (canton of Vaud), ecoRobotix develops a plant protection spraying machine, dubbed ARA, which uses AI, its vision and computer systems to detect and selectively spray the weeds with a micro-dose of herbicide.
Using cameras and advanced machine learning algorithms, ARA offers a compelling quick return on investment of less than three years, while reducing total costs of plant protection measures by up to 40% and boosting crop yields by 5-10%.
The deployment of ARA machines by an increasing number of clients, including agricultural contractors covering hundreds of hectares per month, has already confirmed the expected impressive results under live conditions in demanding working environments.
"We see a rapidly growing demand for our products in the market", explains Claude Juriens, CBO of ecoRobotix. "We tripled our sales during the last few months and are experiencing enthusiastic feedback from our customers."
The funding of USD 14.7 million was led by Swisscom Ventures together with Verve Ventures and was strongly supported by existing ecoRobotix investors, including CapAgro, 4FO Ventures and BASF Venture Capital.
With the proceeds, ecoRobotix will accelerate the high-volume series production of their ARA plant protection spraying machine and drive its European expansion forward.
This new funding will also support the company's R&D efforts geared towards constantly adding new crops for treatment, developing autonomous spraying solutions as well as new cloud-based services for clients using advanced ICT technologies such as 5G.
