Orchard Robotics, a company that uses robotics and artificial intelligence for precision crop management, says it closed its seed round of funding, raising $3.8 million from General Catalyst.
The company’s AI-driven camera system attaches to any farm vehicle to collect fruit count, size, color and growth rate data on each tree, according to a news release. Growers can use the data to help better manage appropriate crop loads and better estimate future yields.
“Our cameras image trees from bud to bloom to harvest and use advanced computer vision and machine learning models we’ve developed to collect precise data about hundreds of millions of fruit,” Orchard Robotics founder and CEO Charlie Wu said in the release. “This is a monumental step forward from traditional methods, which rely on manually collected samples of maybe 100 fruits. By giving farmers total insight into what they’re growing, coupled with the ability to act on our real-time recommendations, we’re accelerating the adoption of precision crop management.”
Wu said Orchard Robotics’ technology will also benefit packinghouses and marketers with its early-season estimates.
“Beyond our advanced camera systems, our focus at Orchard Robotics also centers around our FruitScope OS,” he said. “We recognize that data is only useful if our farmers can actually use it. Which is why, in collaboration with our growers, we’ve built FruitScope to be the industry-leading crop load management platform, where farmers can not only view all of their orchard data but more importantly, put it into action on their farms.”
Orchard Robotics also said Wu was selected as a Thiel Fellow, which provides $100,000 over two years to young entrepreneurs.
“By pushing crop yield beyond previously imagined limits, Charlie is paving the way for a future where farmers will be truly omniscient, understanding their yields at the cellular level,” Alex Handy, director of the Thiel Fellowship, said in the release. “Orchard’s transformative approach will render the Agricultural Revolution a mere prelude to a future that truly reflects the skills, talent, and passion of America’s farmers.”
