Bluewhite Robotics Ltd., an Israeli company that builds autonomous robotics equipment for farmers, today announced it has raised $39 million in new funding its agricultural solution to help growers reduce their workloads.

The company said today that it completed a Series C financing round led by Insight Partners, with participation from new investors Alumni Ventures and LIP Ventures. Existing investors Entrée Capital, Jesselson and Peregrine Ventures also joined in the round, bringing the company’s total funding to $87.5 million.

Founded in 2017, Bluewhite’s solution “Pathfinder,” can be attached to almost any tractor or agricultural implement, turning it into an autonomous vehicle that uses artificial intelligence and sensors to become part of a fleet. The platform then controls the tractor and manages it as part of an end-to-end solution that allows users to run all farm operations from anywhere, permitting users to spray, furrow, mow and more with the same tractor. The back end, named “Compass,” also collects data, analyzes it using AI to provide reports and insights to help farmers reap greater harvests.

The technology takes advantage of numerous sensors, including lidar, cameras and other technologies so it doesn’t need to rely on global positioning satellites, real-time positioning or other external communications. It also allows farmers to take immediate manual control of tractors when needed.

Bluewhite said it currently works with more than 20 permanent crop growers in the United States. With its solution capable of being applied across all crop types, including nuts, berries, apples, grapes and hops, it can be deployed for year-round farming. According to the company, it has helped participate in more than 50,000 hours of autonomous farming activity across 150,000 acres of crops in California and Washington.

“Having already proven the commercial success of our solution with growers, this new round of funding will enable us to continue providing sustainable autonomous innovation to more markets and work with different types of partners across the ecosystem to impact every level of the food supply chain,” said Ben Alfi, co-founder and chief executive of Bluewhite.

According to a report from Markets and Markets, the global market for autonomous tractors in 2023 was valued at $2.4 billion and is projected to reach $7.1 billion by 2028. The pressures facing farmers driving the market include the increased need for efficiency given sustainable practices and the challenges of producing higher yields. Autonomous tractors directly address these efforts with AI algorithms and data-driven analytics, giving farmers a leg up on more efficient day-to-day operations.

“This next phase of our growth will help provide unprecedented transparency throughout the food supply chain and ensure healthier, safer and more sustainable food production and consumption,” said Alfi.

The company said that it will use the new funding to continue to scale up its current autonomous agricultural tractor and farming operations in the U.S. and expand into new markets worldwide.

Image: Bluewhite