Advanced Farm Technologies, Davis, Calif., maker of a robotic strawberry harvester known as the T-6, has received a $7.5 million boost from investors in a Series A funding round.
“We are excited and humbled to have Yamaha, a leader of global innovation and technology, support our mission of building a diversified farm equipment company centered around automation,” Marc Grossman, CEO of Advanced Farm Technologies, said in a news release. “With this investment, we can expand our lead in robotic strawberry harvesting and continue to innovate in other areas.”
The company currently offers harvest services to California strawberry growers, who can request a demo through at the Advanced Farm Technologies (AFT) website, www.advancedfarm.com.
Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley led the round of funding, and Kubota Corp., Catapult Ventures and Impact Venture Capital also invested, according to a news release.
“Finding and supporting technology teams working to solve the challenges inherent in harvesting and delivering fresh food to the dynamic market of today and tomorrow is an area of investment interest for Yamaha Motor,” George Kellerman, CEO and managing director of Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, said in the release.
The Yamaha company sees “tremendous” potential in AFT’s harvester as way to meet growing global demand for fresh fruits and vegetables, Noland Paul, partner and global agtech lead for Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, said in the release.
