ecoRobotix raises USD 14.7 million to speed up series production of its AI-based ultra-high precision farming solutions

16.06.2021 19:13, Guillaume Tinsel

The funding of USD 14.7 million was led by Swisscom Ventures with Verve Ventures. Existing ecoRobotix investors, including CapAgro, 4FO Ventures and BASF Venture Capital also supported the financing round. The Yverdon-les-Bains based startup will use these new funds to accelerate the high-volume series production of their pulled ARA plant protection spraying machine and drive its European expansion forward.

ecoRobotix is developing a revolutionary weed-killer robot, fully automatic and solar-powered. It detects weeds among crops and destroys them using 95% fewer chemicals. Over the last three months,  the startup tripled its sales. It now announces having secured funding that will help speed up series production, support R&D efforts and drive European expansion forward. 

The company's intense R&D efforts are geared to constantly adding new crops for treatment, developing autonomous spraying solutions as well as new cloud-based services for clients entailing advanced ICT technologies such as 5G. Swisscom and ecoRobotix will be cooperating in the development of these new cloud-based services and solutions for sustainable agriculture.

ecoRobotix’ ARA plant protection spraying machine ARA - picture on left (©Zingaro photography)- uses AI, its vision and computer systems to detect and selectively spray the weeds with a micro-dose of herbicide. The centimeter-precise detection and spraying reduce the volume of herbicide used up to 95% while ensuring crops are not sprayed for yield preservation. In addition to weeding operations, ARA can also be used to selectively spray the crop with insecticides, fungicides, or fertilizers.

"Swisscom Ventures is proud to support a cutting edge Swiss agri-tech solution with venture capital and 5G technology competence. ecoRobotix solutions not only assist producers in reducing their use of plant protection products by up to 95% but also in lowering their operating costs. This enables the production of high-quality crops and non-contaminated food at affordable prices", as Dominique Megret, Head of Swisscom Ventures, commented.

"During all our journey, Venturelab played a significant role: bringing us awareness with the TOP 100 and the associate publications, coaching during the Swisscom Startup Challenge in California, and connecting us with future key partners. In a nutshell, even if it was not always visible from the outside, Venturelab's help was precious," said Aurélien G. Demaurex, Co-founder at ecoRobotix.

ecoRobotix was ranked among the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award in 2016 and participated in Venture Leaders Mobile in 2020.