Kubota Invests in U.S. Based Agriculture Technology Start-up — Abundant Robotics Inc., Developing Apple-Picking Robots and Offering Harvest Service —
January 9, 2020
Kubota Corporation (Head Office: Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan; President and Representative Director:Yuichi Kitao; hereinafter, “Kubota”) announced today that it has invested in Abundant Robotics, Inc. (hereafter “Abundant Robotics”), an U.S. based start-up offering robotics-based automation in the agriculture field.
Through this investment in Abundant Robotics, Kubota intends to contribute to labor-saving and efficiency improvement in farming in the U.S. and other countries.
1. Background and aims
- In last June, Kubota launched its Innovation Center as a division for the pursuit of open innovation based on coordination with external partners. We are currently pursuing negotiations for collaboration with startups, beginning with Advanced Farm Technologies, Inc., in which we invested in last August.
- One area of farming that has caught Kubota’s attention is “harvesting,” which is in high demand among fruit growers. This interest led to the decision to invest in Abundant Robotics, which is developing apple-harvesting robots by using advanced technologies.
- With this investment, Kubota aims to reinforce its development of labor-saving and automation technology for harvesting apples and other fruits and launch a solution business utilizing these technologies, thus contributing to labor-saving and efficiency improvement in farming in the U.S. and elsewhere.
©︎2020 Abundant Robotics, Inc.
2. About “Abundant Robotics”
| Name | Abundant Robotics, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Establishment | 2016 |
| Location | California, the U.S. |
| Business | Development of automated apple harvesting robots and contract harvesting services |