FarmDroid, a Danish startup helping farmers and plant breeders reduce their costs of manual labor, secured €10.5 million investment to accelerate the expansion of its autonomous, solar-powered agricultural robot in the conventional market
The funding round was led by Convent Capital, with participation from EIFO and Navus Ventures, providing a total of nearly DKK 80 million. The FarmDroid robot can sow, remove weeds, and reduce pesticides usage with a new micro spray system, all while operating continuously in the field, powered by solar energy. Now, FarmDroid is set to expand further globally, targeting both organic and conventional open-field farming, enhancing efficiency and promoting sustainable agriculture.
Farmers today face significant structural challenges that are reshaping the future of agriculture, including the need to reduce chemical inputs, decrease reliance on manual labour, and cut operational costs. FarmDroid, a company based in Vejen, Denmark, developed a versatile, easy-to-operate, lightweight and affordable robot that can address several of these challenges. As the world’s best-selling solar-powered field robot, it provides a sustainable alternative to traditional farming methods, playing a vital role in the green transition.
By drastically reducing the need for chemical inputs and labour costs, FarmDroid’s autonomous robot enables farmers to implement more sustainable practices while enhancing productivity. The robot is capable of sowing, weeding, precision spraying, and autonomously operates around the clock. FarmDroid promotes eco-friendly agriculture through mechanical weed removal and precise spraying, all while preserving soil health and significantly reducing operational expenses. Having proven its effectiveness primarily on organic farms, the recent introduction of the spot spraying application now opens the door to broader adoption in conventional farming. With mechanical weeding, FarmDroid reduces certain pesticide use by up to 100 percent compared to conventional methods.
“We are incredibly proud to have closed this investment, which will strengthen FarmDroid’s position and provide opportunities to develop and expand the use of agricultural robots. This investment contributes both with competences and financial resources dedicated to scaling the business, increasing our impact, and promoting sustainable and economically attractive solutions for agriculture,” said René Jannick Jørgensen, CEO of FarmDroid.
“In the process, it has been important for us to find the right partners who understand the DNA of FarmDroid, share our vision, and want to join us on the journey ahead. With Convent Capital, Navus Ventures, and EIFO on board, while we as founders remain the primary owners, we are geared for the next steps on the journey. We have surpassed 500 robots – now the next milestone is 1,000,” added Jens and Kristian Warming, the Founders of FarmDroid.
