Ecorobotix Raises $52M in New Funding
YVERDON-LES-BAINS, SWITZERLAND – 09 MAY 2023 : Ecorobotix, the Swiss manufacturer of ARA®, an ultra-high precision plant recognition and smart sprayer system, announced the completion of a $52 million USD (CHF 46 million) funding round, jointly led by AQTON Private Equity GmbH and Cibus Capital LLP, with additional investments from Swisscanto Invest/Swisscanto Growth Fund I, Yara Growth Ventures, Flexstone Partners, and from existing investors including Swisscom Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, 4FOX Ventures, and Verve Ventures. The funding is set to accelerate Ecorobotix’s geographic expansion across new and existing markets and accelerate new product development.
Stefan Quandt, owner of AQTON PE (co-lead investor), explained his company’s decision to invest in Ecorobotix: “I’m looking forward to helping grow businesses like Ecorobotix which are having a positive impact on agriculture and the environment. Ultra-high precision agriculture and solutions like ARA® from Ecorobotix are critical to improving farmer efficiency and helping move towards an eco-friendlier future.”
With customers in 15 European markets, these investments will further accelerate Ecorobotix’s rapidly growing business. Ecorobotix will use the new capital to expedite the growth of ARA®, the plant-by-plant recognition system and ultra-high precision sprayer, worldwide, particularly in the Americas. The capital will also help reinforce the company’s mission to radically change agriculture for the better by offering smart, innovative, and sustainable crop treatment solutions. They not only save farmers money and make their lives easier, but simultaneously respect the environment by massively reducing input costs by about 70-95%, increasing crop yield, reducing soil impact, and preserving biodiversity.
“We are proud to be working with investors who clearly see the ecological benefits of our ultra-high precision technology,” said Ecorobotix CEO, Simon Aspinall. “With these new investments, we will deliver our solutions to more farmers, in more markets, radically increasing agricultural productivity while protecting the environment and reducing CO2 use.”
For this financing Ecorobotix worked with UBS Growth Advisory and Oaklins France as advisors. The capital raise included $48.3M (CHF 43.1M) of new equity and $3.4M (CHF 3M) of new financing facilities thanks to the FOEN Swiss Technology Fund. The new capital will enable Ecorobotix to grow into new markets, expand the product range, and build on the existing commercial success of ARA® in Europe.
About Ecorobotix
Ecorobotix is a Swiss company, Certified B Corporation®, founded to radically change agriculture for the better to respect the environment by reducing chemical/energy use and soil impact. Ecorobotix developed ARA®, a revolutionary plant-by-plant data solution and ultra-high precision crop treatment that minimizes the use of herbicides, pesticides, growth treatments and liquid fertilizers by 70-95%, while increasing crop yields by 5% or more and significantly decreasing CO2 use. The ARA® ultra-high precision field sprayer can treat individual plants with an unprecedented spraying precision of 6x6cm. This innovation represents a milestone in the targeted application of herbicides and pesticides. Using AI-based plant-by-plant recognition and its unique ultra-high precision, ARA® can recognize individual weeds, classify them in real-time and spray them with pinpoint accuracy without affecting the surrounding crops or soil. For more information visit ecorobotix.com.