New Zealand-based horticultural robotics startup Agovor has raised A$3 million in a pre-seed funding round.
The round was led by Australian agriculture-focused venture capital firm Tenacious Ventures.
Other investors included the Hort Innovation Investment Fund, managed by Artesian, and a New Zealand investor through Invest New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus scheme.
Agovor has developed an electric, self-driving eTractor that works with smart attachments such as mowers and sprayers.
These small and lightweight tractor units can run for up to 10 hours at a time, work in narrow rows and different weather conditions, and are specially designed for vineyards, orchards, and berry farms.
Richard Beaumont, who cofounded Agovor with Simon Carroll in 2022, said the idea began as a way to solve problems at their own nursery.
“We had the same problems as everyone else – labour constrained, while trying to reduce costs – but there were too many barriers for adoption of new solutions,” he said.
“We built something that worked for us, and it’s been encouraging to see our first customers across New Zealand and Australia finding the same value, whether they’re working in berry tunnel houses, orchards or vineyards.
Beaumont said their focus following the raise is threefold: “continuing to improve the eTractor itself; expanding the range of towable implements so growers can carry out multiple tasks by simply switching trailers; and helping customers get the most out of these machines on their farms, every minute of the day and night.”
Agovor CEO Mike Riley said they’ll use the funds to expand the R&D, manufacturing, sales and service teams immediately, with sales and technical field support roles in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand; and other technician roles in Sydney.
Agovor was founded by a commercial nursery owner with years of experience, along with an automation engineer who specializes in building advanced technology. Together, they aim to create productivity solutions that can make a global impact.
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