Carbon Robotics raises $30M to scale its LaserWeeder platform

Seattle-based Carbon Robotics has closed $30 million in Series C financing to expand sales of its LaserWeeder platform.

The funding was contributed by lead investor Sozo Ventures along with existing investors Anthos Capital, Fuse Venture Capital, Ignition Partners, Liquid2 and Voyager Capital, according to a news release.

The funding will be used to expand sales regions in North America, optimize and scale manufacturing, develop new software and hardware products, and launch into international markets, the release said. This latest round of financing brings Carbon Robotics’ overall funding to $67 million, according to the company.

“Carbon Robotics' elegant use of [artificial intelligence], computer vision, robotics and lasers is the only solution that enables farmers to reduce their most expensive line item — weed control — without damaging plants or the soil,” Rob Freelen, managing director of Sozo Ventures, said in the release. “I am particularly impressed with the team’s fast pace of innovation to bring breakthrough products to market, boosting farmers’ profitability across conventional, organic and no-till practices.”

The LaserWeeder identifies weeds and targets them for elimination. The implement’s 30 high-powered carbon dioxide lasers use thermal energy to destroy the meristem of the weed with millimeter accuracy, without damaging nearby crops or disturbing the soil, according to the release.

“This financing round further supports our mission to provide cost-effective and efficient precision ag-tech tools to growers,” Paul Mikesell, CEO and founder of Carbon Robotics, said in the release. “Traditional weeding methods, including hand weeding and herbicides, are expensive, unreliable and damage soil health. The LaserWeeder uniquely addresses all of these challenges.”

To date, Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeders have successfully eliminated more than 500 million weeds across 40 different crops, the company said.

The LaserWeeder will be delivered this year to farms across 17 U.S. states and three provinces in Canada, according to the release. Most recently, Carbon Robotics expanded the features of the LaserWeeder with the industry’s first LaserThinning capability, targeting areas where vegetable crops are purposefully overseeded and then thinned for optimal crop spacing, growth and yield.

As part of the Series C financing, Rob Freelen with Sozo Ventures and Erik Benson with Voyager Capital will join the Carbon Robotics board of directors, the release said.