Saga Robotics Gains $11.5M for U.S. and UK Expansion
As agtech steps up to develop and provide sustainable solutions for the future of agriculture, Norway-based Saga Robotics has successfully closed on $11.5 million in growth capital, writes Lynda Kiernan-Stone at Global AgInvesting Media.
This funding was committed by existing investors Nysnø Climate Investment, Aker, Rabo Ventures, Hatteland, Melesio Capital, and Sanden, along with new investors Songa Investments, and MP Pensjon.
With the parallel goals of addressing the growing labor shortage and making agriculture more sustainable and energy efficient, Saga Robotics is a tech company revolutionizing food production by replacing traditional tractors and manual labor with AI-powered robots.
The company has developed an autonomous robot they call Thorvald – a self-propelled robot that uses algorithms to navigate challenging on-farm conditions that has shown a reduction in plant diseases, promotion of sustainable food production with lower CO2 emissions, and a 60-90 percent reduction in pesticides.
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First built in Norway in 2014, Thorvald is based on a modular design – allowing for widely different robots to be built based on the same basic module using common tools. These variations can be easily customized to a variety of tasks and production models from greenhouse, to tunnel, open field, or orchard production.
“Robots are now capable of covering large areas and performing precision tasks that surpass conventional farming methods,” said Anne Dingstad, CEO, Saga Robotics.
“Thorvald is leading the way in this transformation. This year, nearly one in ten strawberries in the UK will be treated by Thorvald – and this is just the beginning of our global journey.”
Saga explained that this newly gained capital will be used to position it for an expansion into American vineyards; to continue to rapidly expand and strengthen its leadership in British strawberry production; and to develop new tools and data services.
In the UK the company has already secured contracts with major growers, significantly growing the treated acreage year-on-year. This success is a precursor for growth in the enormous U.S. wine market, where Thorvald is already being used by forward-thinking customers.
Read more at Global AgInvesting.
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