🇩🇰 FarmDroid secures €10.5 million investment to accelerate the expansion of its autonomous, solar-powered agricultural robot in the conventional market

FarmDroid, the pioneer in autonomous, solar-powered agricultural robots, has secured a €10.5 million investment to drive its global expansion. 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.

Reshaping the future of 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.

Read more about the solution for conventional farmers here

Strengthening of FarmDroid’s position

At FarmDroid, both the CEO and founders are very pleased with the investment from the three involved parties. “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,” says René Jannick Jørgensen, CEO of FarmDroid.

The founders are excited to welcome the new investors as they join FarmDroid on its growth journey. “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,” say Jens and Kristian Warming, the founders of FarmDroid.

Positive environmental impact

The investment aligns perfectly with the strategies of the three participating investors, each of whom recognises the potential of FarmDroid’s technology to reshape modern agriculture and make positive environmental impact.

The lead investor highlights: “At Convent Capital, we value solutions that are both practical and impactful. In our view the FarmDroid team developed a farming tool that stands out in its simplicity and effectiveness, making it one of the bestselling autonomous solutions in the market today. By significantly reducing chemical inputs while at the same time increasing crop yields, FarmDroid’s robots bring significant positive environmental impact. But above all, we have truly enjoyed working with the FarmDroid team over the past months and look forward to strengthening our partnership now that we have officially joint forces,” says Steven Bernaert, Principal at Convent Capital. 

This enthusiasm is shared by the other investors in the syndicate. “FarmDroid is a strong addition to EIFO’s portfolio as the company fits perfectly into our strategy of supporting the green transition with innovative solutions. FarmDroid drastically reduces the use of pesticides while being an economically attractive solution for agriculture,” says Caroline Søeborg Ahlefeldt, Investment Manager at EIFO.

At Navus Ventures they also see a strong match between FarmDroid and themselves. “We see FarmDroid as a frontrunner in robotisation of arable farming, enabling more sustainable and long-term productive practices. Their pragmatic and farmer-oriented technology has been tested in the field for years as they established an impressive customer base. We are looking forward to our collaboration and see a strong match with our background in the automation and robotisation of agriculture” says Eduard Meijer, Managing Director at Navus Ventures.

About FarmDroid: The company was founded by brothers Jens and Kristian Warming from Vejen, who built the first prototype themselves from scrap parts. Today, FarmDroid is the world’s best-selling sowing and weeding robot with over 500 robots sold in more than 20 countries across three continents. The propulsion is provided by electric motors powered by solar panels mounted above the robot. The robot is designed like a food processor, where new modules can be added and removed, and the sowing and weeding rows can be adjusted in width and number. At FarmDroid, we work every day to help farmers and growers reduce the costs of sowing and weeding crops while doing so in a more CO2-neutral and sustainable way. www.farmdroid.com

About Convent Capital: Convent Capital is an independent Dutch investment firm with a long-term focus. In addition to holding direct investments in five platform companies across Europe and North America, Convent manages sector-specific funds, including its Agri Food Fund (€140m), which supports this investment. The Agri Food Fund specializes in providing growth equity to innovative companies that drive positive environmental impact. Our investments target businesses that are fundamentally sustainable, contributing to a healthier and more sustainable Food and Agri value chain. www.conventcapital.nl

About Navus Ventures: Navus Ventures is a venture capital firm, part of a family office linked to Lely (Farming Innovators), aimed at high-tech start-ups and scale-ups driving the ongoing sustainable transitions in food and energy. Navus invests both in typical VC setup as well as for longer holding periods and draws from the knowledge and network of the Lely family business, with a longstanding history in high-tech product development and successful market entry of innovations. Our approach is hands-on and pragmatic, acting quickly and supporting management on strategic and operational matters. www.navusventures.com

About EIFO, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark: EIFO is the national promotional bank and export credit agency of Denmark combined in one financial institution. Active in over 100 countries, and with a total business volume of more than EUR 20 billion, EIFO provides financial solutions for Danish companies and their global partners, while also investing in startups and funds. We exist to open doors for Danish global business, accelerate the green transition, promote new technologies and develop the Danish defense industry. With our willingness to take risks in financing, EIFO paves the way for those who dare to think bigger. www.eifo.dk

Originally published on 22 October by Farmdroid.

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