Agtonomy raises $18M for physical AI in agriculture

News from our AgNewsWire service Agtonomy Agtonomy, a leading software and services company specializing in automation and physical AI solutions for agriculture and land management, closed an oversubscribed Series B funding round totaling $18 million based on its proven commercial traction and growth potential. This investment was led by DBL Partners, a pioneering double bottom line venture capital firm renowned for early investments in Tesla, SpaceX, and Farmers Business Network, with participation from new investor Nuveen, one of the world’s largest owners and operators of agricultural land—managing over 2 million acres globally. Existing investors Autotech, Allison Transmission, Rethink Food, and Black Forest Ventures also participated in the round. “Agtonomy is at an exciting inflection point as we expand our commercial footprint and bring physical AI into everyday field operations,” said Tim Bucher, founder and CEO of Agtonomy. “This investment round—and the support from DBL and Nuveen—underscores confidence not only in our technology and momentum, but also in the meaningful value we are delivering in real-world commercial operations today.” https://lnkd.in/gZkJ_6ak

Agtonomy, a leading software and services company specializing in automation and physical AI solutions for agriculture and land management, closed an oversubscribed Series B funding round totaling $18 million based on its proven commercial traction and growth potential. https://lnkd.in/gZkJ_6ak #tech #investing #round

Thrilled to announce our Innovation Grant awardees at #FIRAUSA25 this morning! F3 Innovate Awards $200,000 to Five Startups Pioneering Ag Innovation in California’s Central Valley The F3i Innovation Grant Program accelerates early-stage agtech companies developing breakthrough technologies in automation, water efficiency, soil health, and plant analytics. More than funding, the program connects innovators directly with growers — providing the resources, pilots, and partnerships to test, scale, and deploy real solutions in the field. Among the 2025 F3i Innovation Grant Recipients Are: Senseen US Using its Nutriscope™ AI system, Senseen is developing almond-specific calibrations to measure macro and micronutrients directly from leaf scans, offering growers real-time nutrition insights and paving the way for next-generation plant health analytics. ECO2MIX Inc.’s Push Water Project Building on research with American Pistachio Growers and Fresno State, the Push Water Project will quantify soil health improvement and nitrogen savings using carbonic acid and publish the first actionable data of its kind for the agriculture sector. Gather Gather’s semi-autonomous Rover automates crop transport between pickers and packers in vineyards, improving harvest speed and worker safety. Compact and GPS-free, it delivers practical automation to farms of any size. Milano Technical Group Milano Technical Group’s autonomy software stack will provide navigation, fleet management, and telemetry as a plug-and-play API for any ag robot platform, allowing hardware developers to deploy fully functional autonomy within weeks instead of months.   Budbreak Innovations Budbreak’s vineyard robots detect early signs of vine disease like red blotch and leafroll, flagging and marking affected vines for removal. Each robot captures high-res imagery synced to a web dashboard, giving growers a 24/7 digital field scout.Want to learn more? You can find us at FIRA, where we have a booth set up to connect growers, companies, university teams, and industry partners shaping agriculture's next era. Thanks to our reviewing partners at Farmhand Ventures California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) California Department of Food and Agriculture and Drew Ketelsen of HMC Farms for being a part of the first round of this program. Learn about these companies and the exciting initiatives underway at F3 Innovate - come say hi at #FIRAUSA25 this week! #FIRAUSA25 #AgTech #F3i #FutureofAg #FutureofFood

Amsterdam-based Source.ag has raised $17.5 million in a Series B round to advance its AI platform for controlled environment agriculture. Source.ag provides an AI co-pilot for growers in high-tech greenhouses. Its software integrates digitization, AI, and plant science to offer tools for precise yield forecasting, autonomous crop management, and centralized data. This helps growers scale operations, increase output, and improve efficiency in response to rising global demand for fresh produce. The round was led by Astanor Ventures, with participation from Enza Zaden and grower cooperative Harvest House. The funding will be used to accelerate global scaling, expand its AI product suite, and deepen collaborations with leading horticulture organizations. Congratulations to co-founders Rien Kamman, Ernst van Bruggen, and the Source.ag team. Tech.eu: https://lnkd.in/dubqFgqZ Deals like this are reshaping the AI landscape. For weekly analysis on the funding, valuations, and strategic moves that matter, subscribe to the Charted Growth newsletter: chartedgrowth.beehiiv.com #AI #AgriTech #CEA #Sustainability #FoodTech #Funding #SeriesB #Netherlands

Naïo Technologies plots a progressive comeback... After a challenging year marked by a judicial recovery process, French ag robotics pioneer Naïo Technologies is relaunching with fresh leadership, €6.4M in new financing, and a renewed focus on impact-driven innovation. COO Carriere Matthias Carriere told AgTechNavigator: “Sales were totally down during the judicial recovery process. The relaunch has to account for those six months of shutdown.” The new strategy prioritizes: - Scaling production to 100 robots/year - Expanding European distribution - Doubling down on mature markets like France, Spain, Italy & Central Europe - Supporting local vegetable growers with its Oz robot - Reaching €11M in revenue by 2030 After flirting with bankruptcy, Naïo is now focused on sustainable growth, reliability, and real-world impact. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/du6s-Sje #AgTech #Robotics #SustainableFarming #WineIndustry #AgricultureInnovation #NaïoTechnologies #AgriTech #EuropeanAgTech #FarmRobots #Agroecology #B2BJournalism

Agtonomy will expand its ag autonomy software and services business thanks to an $18 million Series B round the California-based company just closed. VC firm DBL Partners led the round with participation from asset manager Nuveen, a TIAA company and existing investors Autotech Ventures, Allison Transmission, Rethink Food, and Black Forest Ventures. In addition to being a software developer that partners with commercial equipment manufacturers, Agtonomy is also bringing what it calls “physical AI” to agriculture. Tim Bucher, the company’s cofounder and CEO, says this is “the next frontier of automation: artificial intelligence directly embedded into machines and autonomous fleets that operate in the real world.” https://lnkd.in/e_8dNwnu

Iowa's harvest is nearly complete, and it's clear: the future of ag-tech is already in the field. At RHaVe Innovations, we're excited to be part of the transformation. As of early November, Iowa farmers have harvested over 96% of soybeans and 85% of corn acres, despite weather delays and a pause in federal crop reporting. That kind of resilience is a testament to our growers, and increasingly to the technologies they're adopting. At RHaVe Innovations, we're seeing a shift: autonomous tools aren't just future-facing, they're harvest-ready. Our system is designed to make faster, smarter decisions in real time. This year's harvest revealed the challenges: dry conditions, uneven yields, and limited labor windows. These are precisely the pain points that autonomous systems are designed to address. When machines can scout, sample, and report without waiting for human presence, the industry saves hours and gains valuable insight. The combines will soon be parked for the season, but the work of building smarter ag-tech never stops. Let's keep Iowa at the forefront of agricultural innovation. #AgTech #MidwestBuilt #RHaVeInnovations #Autonomous #Harvest2025 #IowaAI

Big news for UK agri-tech innovators! Innovate UK has launched AgriScale, a new pilot programme unveiled by Defra Minister Dame Angela Eagle, at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit. AgriScale is designed to help agri-tech businesses scale up manufacturing, bridging the gap between R&D and market-ready products. By focusing on production - not just prototypes - it’s set to supercharge growth in the UK’s advanced agri-tech sector. https://bit.ly/4hfw0fP #ReedScientific #AgriTech #Innovation #Manufacturing #Agriculture #FMCG

At FIRA USA, California ag leaders warned that automation is essential for the state’s farm economy but venture capital is lagging, forcing growers and public agencies to rethink how to fund and deploy new technology. #california #technology #agriculture #agtechnology #farmtech https://lnkd.in/gA5sVdyf