Smart Autonomy on the Local Farm: Our Investment in Agtonomy
Agriculture has historically struggled with tech disruption. Unlike, say, enterprise analytics, the local farmer doesn’t wake up everyday thinking about how technology can solve their agricultural challenges. However, in recent years, the farmer mindset is fundamentally shifting. With world population rising and skilled labor falling, startups are introducing innovative technologies packaged in disruptive business models to help farmers improve their yields and operations.
This change in the farmer customer mindset, and thus the accessibility to the huge agricultural market, is why I am thrilled to announce our recent investment in Agtonomy. The company is on a mission to disrupt existing agriculture machines with teleoperations and autonomy. By offering a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service platform, Agtonomy is increasing overall farmer productivity by helping create a technology-enabled labor force.
Based in South San Francisco and Sonoma County, Agtonomy is led and co-founded by CEO Tim Bucher and COO Valerie Syme. Together, they have combined their passion for high tech and agriculture to create a company that places the farmer’s needs first. This has led the pair to build a world-class team of experts with experience at companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Dell, Uber and Cruise, as well as lifelong farming backgrounds in Northern California agriculture operations. What got us so excited is Tim’s decades of farming experience and mission to create technology for farmers by farmers.
Agtonomy is ushering in a new age of autonomy for local farming by transforming tractors and agriculture machines into smart, cost-effective, remote-controlled equipment. The company’s sensor suite and software stack gives farmers the ability to remotely operate their machinery — therefore increasing worker flexibility and safety. The company offers hardware monitoring, data collection, and farming-as-a service capabilities such as smart mowing, precision weeding, and spraying. There are also plans to expand the platform’s capabilities in the coming years, and we look forward to seeing how the team continues to empower local farmers in the face of industry challenges.
Agtonomy differentiates itself through its collaboration with some of the most trusted names in farming equipment. By working with global OEM partners, the company is bridging the gap between innovation and traditional agriculture procedures by integrating with established farm equipment. This approach is not only cost-effective and scalable, it addresses farmer unease around new technologies by continuing to work with well-established OEMs that are trusted within the industry.
By first tackling the agricultural tractor and implements sector, which is an $18B+ market in the United States alone, the team at Agtonomy is well positioned to disrupt the very foundation of our global food production systems at the local level. We’re proud to join Agtonomy’s Seed II round along with GV, Grit Ventures, FlyBridge Capital Partners and others as they work to improve local agriculture and production through autonomous equipment.
Visit the Agtonomy’s website and the Toyota Ventures portfolio page to learn more.
