Alexander O. Onukwue
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The experiments started at a citrus farm in Cape Town where James Paterson was born. By 2014, that passion became Aerobotics – a startup that has now raised $17m from investors to help farmers grow fruits and trees using images from satellites and drones.
Aerobotics is a company of engineers, agronomists, and data scientists. Its business is to devise hardware and software technology for precision agriculture anywhere in the world.
Their tools are calibrated to generate insights for tree and fruit farmers to manage their resources optimally. Farmers are able to track trees, detect those that are unhealthy, and act decisively where needed. Yield is maximised and disease kept at bay.
South African startup Aerobotics raises $17M to scale its AI-for-agriculture platform
As the global agricultural industry stretches to meet expected population growth and food demand, and food security becomes more of a pressing issue with global warming, a startup out of South Africa is using artificial intelligence to help farmers manage their farms, trees and fruits.
Aerobotics, a South African startup that provides intelligent tools to the world’s agriculture industry, has raised $17 million in an oversubscribed Series B round.
Founded in 2014 by James Paterson and Benji Meltzer, Aerobotics is currently focused on building tools for fruit and tree farmers. Using artificial intelligence, drones and other robotics, its technology helps track and assess the health of these crops, including identifying when trees are sick, tracking pests and diseases, and analytics for better yield management.
Less than a year after Naspers said it would invest R100m in Aerobotics through its Naspers Foundry.
By TechCentral
20 Jan 2021 12:00
Image: Shutterstock
Cape Town-founded agritech start-up Aerobotics has raised US$17-million (R253-million) in a series-B funding round led by Naspers.
News of the investment comes less than a year after Naspers said it would invest R100-million in Aerobotics through its Naspers Foundry business, which funds early-stage ventures.
The companyâs series-B round was oversubscribed. Other than Naspers, there was also âsignificant participationâ from Platform Investment Partners, FMO: Entrepreneurial Development Bank and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation.
The series-B investment will used to further technology development and product delivery in the US, a key market, and Aeroboticsâ other core territories, it said.
Aerobotics CEO James Paterson
Cape Town-founded agritech start-up Aerobotics has raised US$17-million (R253-million) in a series-B funding round led by Naspers.
News of the investment comes less than a year after Naspers said it would invest R100-million in Aerobotics through its Naspers Foundry business, which funds early-stage ventures.
The company’s series-B round was oversubscribed. Other than Naspers, there was also “significant participation” from Platform Investment Partners, FMO: Entrepreneurial Development Bank and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation.
We look forward to further co-developing our products with the agricultural industry leaders
The series-B investment will used to further technology development and product delivery in the US, a key market, and Aerobotics’ other core territories, it said.