This investment strengthens the portfolio of Yara Growth Ventures in smart farming equipment, for improved sustainability in agriculture.
Oslo based Yara Growth Ventures invests in Ecorobotix, who develops smart, innovative, and sustainable solutions for agriculture. Their ARA smart spraying system allows for a reduction of chemical crop inputs like herbicides by 70-95 per cent. Such drastic savings significantly benefit growers by reducing input costs, whilst improving the environmental footprint of modern farming. The Switzerland based scale-up company was founded in 2011 by Aurelien Demaurex and Steve Tanner.
The current USD 52 million (CHF 46 million) funding round is jointly led by AQTON Private Equity GmbH and Cibus Capital LLP with additional contributions from both existing and new investors including Yara Growth Ventures. The investment will accelerate Ecorobotix’s geographic expansion and enable new product development.
“We are observing a lot of innovation in smart agricultural machinery, but Ecorobotix truly stands out.” said Björn Heinz of the Yara Growth Ventures team and further adds “It is not only their ARA system’s amazing capabilities that take precision farming to a new level. We are also truly impressed by the team’s capabilities and their operational excellence to deliver impressive growth in the market.”
“We are proud to be working with investors who clearly see the environmental benefits of our ultra-high precision technology,” said Ecorobotix CEO Simon Aspinall. “With these new investments we will deliver ARA to more farmers, in more markets, increasing agricultural productivity while protecting the environment and reducing CO2 impact.”