Automated software startup Greenzie raised $4 million to roll out more robotic landscape workers.
Inside the deal: Atlanta Ventures, an early-stage investment firm based in the Atlanta Tech Village, led the round. Atlanta’s TechSquare Labs, former CallRail CEO Andy Powell, Rigor founder Craig Hyde, TechOperators Partner Tom Noonan. New York-based Kelmhurst LLC also participated. Greenzie previously raised $1.5 million in December 2020.
About the company: Greenzie, led by CEO Charles Quinn, produces software that automates commercial lawn mowing. Wright Manufacturing produces the lawn mowers, which are outfitted with Greenzie sensors that allow them to cut lawns on their own. Twelve Greenzie mowers are currently being used by top landscaping companies, including BrightView and Juniper Landscaping.
The startup is the first company to launch from the Atlanta Ventures Studio, which helps entrepreneurs build their startups from scratch and provides resources and investments in exchange for co-founding the businesses. Greenzie has 15 employees and a Westside lab space to test the machines.
What’s next: Greenzie plans to expand its fleet of automated lawn mowers and double its employees in the next year with this round of funding. The startup wants to partner with more manufacturers to scale the product rollout. Customers activate the software once they buy the mower, and Greenzie employees can troubleshoot and answer questions remotely. Right now, the startup is focused on commercial mowing but plans to expand the product to include smaller, more intricate lawns. Eventually, Quinn wants to free workers from all repetitive, outdoor labor with Greenzie.
Why it matters: Labor shortages are a top concern for landscaping companies, Quinn said. Greenzie solves for those problems. Greenzie mowers can fill open job roles, and landscape workers become robot technicians and earn higher wages than they would doing repetitive lawn work. Landscaping workers also have more time to focus on creative details of the job rather than mowing for hours, Quinn said.
What they’re saying: “I am out to destroy very bad jobs,” Quinn said. “There’s no need for humans to do dull, dangerous, repetitive work. Landscapers need robotic workers to augment the crews and add labor productivity.”
