Carbon Robotics, an agricultural robotics company (not to be mistaken with the Battlefield contestant), announced this week that it had secured $27 Million in funding. This round, which includes Anthos Capital and Ignition Capital as well as Fuse Venture Partners, Voyager Capital, follows an $8.4million Series A that was raised in 2019. The total amount of funding for the company is now around $36 millions.
Paul Mikesell, CEO and founder of Mikesell, stated that weeding is one the greatest challenges facing farmers, particularly with the increase in herbicide-resistant and organic weeds. This investment will allow us to expand our operations in order to meet increasing demand for this technology. This funding will also allow our team continue to invent new products and find innovative ways to use technology in agriculture.
The primary product of the Seattle-based startup is an autonomous robot that uses lasers for weed removal. This round comes after Carbon's April announcement of its latest-generation Autonomous Weeder. It claims it can eradicate around 100,000 weeds an hour. As labor shortages continue, the pandemic continues to drive interest in agricultural robotics companies.
Carbon points out that many farmers are looking for an alternative to the bans placed on pesticides by international governments. It is clear that a system that does not require harmful chemicals and reduces the amount of human labor in an industry that often suffers from shortages in heads has appeal.
According to the company, it has already sold its stock of 2021 and 2022. Therefore, one can assume that this round will see key investments in scaling up production and increasing headcount.
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