Raspberry-picking robot startup picks up £1.5m funding

It marks the third food-picking startup the venture capital firm has invested in, after it supplied cash to Shropshire-based broccoli upcycling startup Upp and asparagus field robot maker Muddy Machines.

Fieldwork Robotics, based in Cambridge, is targeting a further £600,000 via a crowdfund. The round also attracted investment from prior backers Frontier IP and a family office.

Jon Pollock, chief executive of Elbow Beach Capital, said: “Agriculture as it stands is not fit for purpose and we need innovative technologies to alleviate the unsustainable levels of waste and improve the economics for the farmer and end customers in the sector.”

Fieldwork Robotics-picked raspberries are already for sale in the likes of Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s.

As a result of labour shortages up to £60m of food will go to waste on UK farms, according to the National Farmers’ Union.

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Photo provided by Fieldwork Robotics.

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