Robot fruit-picking firm harvests growth with £14 million raise

A robotics business is set to accelerate the rollout of artificial intelligence-powered harvesting technology after securing more than £14 million support.

Dogtooth Technologies has raised funding through equity investment from 24 Haymarket, EMV Capital and ACF Investors, alongside grants from Innovate UK and a venture leasing facility from Kineo Finance.

It says the investment will support the commercial deployment of the company’s autonomous harvesting robots across the UK and overseas, and comes as the agricultural sector faces increasing labour shortages and rising seasonal employment costs.

Cambridgeshire-based Dogtooth has already supplied robotic harvesting systems to Dyson Farming, with its technology known for combining computer vision, artificial intelligence and precision robotics to identify ripe fruit and harvest delicate crops in commercial growing environments.

Duncan Robertson, chief executive, said: “This investment represents a significant milestone for Dogtooth and the broader adoption of embodied artificial intelligence in agriculture. 

“For many years, robotic harvesting has been viewed as a distant aspiration. 

“Today, growers are deploying our robots on commercial farms because labour shortages are a reality that cannot be ignored. 

“The convergence of artificial intelligence, robotics and practical customer demand is creating a unique opportunity to transform the production of fruit and vegetable produce.”

Paul Tselentis, 24 Haymarket managing director, added: “Dogtooth has established itself as one of the world’s leading agricultural robotics companies.

“The team has achieved what many believed would be impossible: reliably harvesting delicate crops in real-world commercial environments. 

“We are delighted to support the company’s next phase of growth.”

Tim Mills, ACF Investors’ managing partner, added: “Having backed Dogtooth from its early days, we have seen the exceptional progress the company has made in developing and deploying technology that addresses one of agriculture’s most significant challenges and demonstrates the substantial commercial potential of robotics in the sector. 

“We are delighted to continue supporting the team.”

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