BMW’s largest shareholder invests in Ecorobotix

Ecorobotix, the Swiss manufacturer of Ara, an AI powered plant-by-plant recognition and ultra-high precision smart spraying system, announced the completion of a $ 52 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 will 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.”

Expedite the growth of Ara

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 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. Ara saves farmers money and makes their lives easier, while simultaneously respecting the environment by massively reducing input costs about 70-95%, increasing crop yields, reducing the impact on soil, and preserving biodiversity.

“We are proud to be working with investors who clearly see the environmental benefits of our ultra-high precision technology. With these new investments, we will deliver Ara to more farmers, in more markets, increasing agricultural productivity while protecting the environment and reducing CO2 impact”, said Ecorobotix CEO, Simon Aspinall.

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.