Robotics firm Saga secures $11.2 million funding for growth in UV-C light-equipped 'bot squad tackling powdery mildew
Saga Robotics, a pioneer in the field of ag robotics, is making significant strides in the tabletop strawberry market in the UK and the vineyard market in California. The company, which was founded in 2016 by Dr. Pål Johan From and Dr. Lars Grimstad, is currently serving 13 leading strawberry growers in the UK and managing 1,300+ acres of vineyards in California.
Saga Robotics' focus is on smaller machines with significant precision, suitable for tabletop strawberries in polytunnels and California's vineyards. The company's flagship product, Thorvald, is an autonomous robot armed with UV-C light, designed to tackle powdery mildew in crops.
The growth strategy of Saga Robotics revolves around scaling commercial adoption. This includes expanding the deployment of Thorvald robots, tailoring the technology to different agricultural settings, and introducing a new, dedicated grapevine robot for tougher vineyard terrains.
One of the key strategies is the Farming-as-a-Service (FaaS) model, whereby growers pay a fee per disease-free acre to treat their crops. This model lowers financial barriers and spreads costs over time, making the technology more accessible.
Saga Robotics is also leveraging regulatory incentives, such as California’s CORE incentive program, which provides grants for agricultural robot purchases, enhancing affordability and adoption in US vineyards.
Recently, the company secured $11.2 million in funding, backed by Praesidium Agri-FoodTech, Aker Capital, Nysnø Climate Investments, Blystad, Hatteland, Melesio, Sanden, and MP Pensjon. This funding will accelerate adoption and improve efficiency in these chemically dependent specialty crop markets.
In addition to disease management, Saga Robotics is expanding value through yield prediction tools using data collected during robot operations. This data includes the number of clusters, size of clusters, size of berries, and number of flowers to predict yield.
Saga Robotics currently holds about 20% market share in the UK tabletop strawberry market and aims to increase this to 30% by 2026. In the US vineyard market, particularly California, the company plans to triple its footprint by 2026.
As the ag robotics industry is expected to grow rapidly, particularly in specialty, high-value crops, Saga Robotics is strategically positioning itself as a critical player by deeply integrating technology adaptation, service-based pricing, regulatory incentives, and data-driven farming solutions.
- An entrepreneur in the field of food-and-drink, Saga Robotics is venturing into global-cuisines with a focus on strawberries.
- The company's innovations in finance have enabled them to secure $11.2 million in investments for expanding their small-business.
- With a growing footprint, Saga Robotics is now serving 13 leading growers in the UK and ranching over 1,300+ acres in California.
- Saga Robotics' services extend beyond agriculture, as they leverage technology in data-and-cloud-computing to predict yield for better crop management.
- The company's strategic approach includes the Farming-as-a-Service (FaaS) model, which is making their services more career-accessible for growers.
- Despite the company's success in agricultural robots, they haven't abandoned other industries – they're keeping an eye on the MLB in sports, hoping to implement their technologies in the future.
- In line with the increasing popularity of technology, Saga Robotics is positioning itself as a leader in the ag robotics sector, a crucial player in the rapidly growing global economy.
- As Saga Robotics expands its business in the UK and California, they aim to dominate the tabletop strawberry market (30% by 2026) and triple their vineyard presence in California by 2026.
