Santa Cruz Ventures has completed its Round 1 with a major investment in farm-ng, a startup developing robotics and artificial intelligence solutions for sustainable agriculture. The company secured $10.05 million in Series A funding led by Acre Venture Partners and Xplorer Capital, with participation from ten other institutional and individual investors. According to Ethan Rublee, CEO and Founder of farm-ng, this funding will accelerate manufacturing to meet market demand, fund development of more autonomous farm capabilities, scale go-to-market efforts, and develop an ecosystem of applications that help farms thrive for generations. The company is committed to cultivating a future where everyone has access to healthy food grown in an ecologically and economically sustainable way.
Farm-ng's flagship product, the Amiga, is a modular electric robot designed for multiple environments, tasks, and crops. It helps farms reduce operational costs, increase yields, and realize a rapid return on investment. The open and extensible software allows for integration into farming applications and endless customization through developers and partners. In less than 18 months, over 100 Amigas have been deployed to execute a range of farming tasks, including seeding, precision spraying, pest management, compost spreading, phenotyping, and geo-tagged data collection, visualization, and analysis. This deployment demonstrates the practical application of robotics in addressing immediate agricultural needs.
The investment comes at a critical time for the agricultural sector, which faces significant labor challenges. The United States alone spends $90 billion on repetitive, hazardous, manual farm tasks annually. Labor shortages are exacerbated by reduced immigration and rising wages, while climate-related costs are thinning profit margins. Farm-ng aims to address these issues with its robotics and AI solutions, delivering three game-changing outcomes for customers: productive, resilient farming operations; inclusive, sustainable farming practices; and quick return on investment with appropriate robotics and AI. The funding from Santa Cruz Ventures and other investors validates the growing importance of technological innovation in ensuring food security and agricultural sustainability amid these mounting pressures.
The implications of this announcement extend beyond immediate financial backing. It represents a strategic move toward transforming agricultural practices through automation, potentially reducing dependency on manual labor and mitigating environmental impacts. By supporting farm-ng's expansion, investors are betting on scalable solutions that could reshape how food is produced, making farming more efficient and sustainable in the face of global challenges like climate change and resource scarcity. The success of the Amiga robot in diverse farming tasks suggests a viable path forward for integrating advanced technology into traditional agriculture, offering a model for other regions and crops. As farm-ng scales its operations, its impact on labor dynamics, farm profitability, and ecological stewardship will be closely watched by industry stakeholders and policymakers alike.
