Atlanta startup Greenzie has raised its largest investment yet to automate more commercial lawn mowers. It also scored a partnership with a leading construction and farm equipment manufacturer, CEO Charles Quinn said.
Bobcat Co., a subsidiary of the Doosan Group, provided a strategic investment as part of the partnership while existing investor Atlanta Ventures led Greenzie's $8 million round. Other investors included Swift Straw CEO Matt Lowe and TechOperators Partner Tom Noonan.
Greenzie will automate Bobcat's zero turn mower product line, which includes seven products, according to its website. A spokesperson with the company declined to say how many of Bobcat’s mowers it looks to automate. The automated mower lineup will launch in late 2023.
This round brings the company’s funding to around $15 million. Greenzie has support from some of Atlanta's top entrepreneurs, including Atlanta Tech Village founder David Cummings. It launched through Cummings' Atlanta Ventures Studio program, which helps entrepreneurs build startups in exchange for co-founding the businesses. Atlanta Ventures, former CallRail CEO Andy Powell, Rigor founder Craig Hyde and TechSquare Labs are also investors.
The company’s growth coincides with a tight labor market that is impacting the landscaping industry. Over 90% of green industry companies say that landscape worker shortages made hiring more challenging, reported landscaping marketplace GoMaterials.
Greenzie is able to fill those job roles with robots. It charges $12,000 per robotic worker annually. The average salary for a landscape worker in Georgia is $28,500 and can be as low as $16,000, according to financial management firm Intuit Mint.
The automation of repetitive labor is anticipated in various industries, such as logistics and manufacturing. It is set to displace 8.4 million U.S. workers by 2030, a 23% increase from a pre-covid model, according to a study by management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Georgia Tech has a leading robotics school and is helping companies across the state implement more artificial intelligence and automation.
“People aren’t clamoring for an eight-hour job in the sun that’s carpal tunnel inducing … It's not a task humans are suited for,” Quinn said. “The next big push is in automation in many industries, and we're taking it into an industry that’s ignored where labor challenges are high.”
The company has sold 50 of its robotic workers across 15 states and looks to expand that number to hundreds following the raise. Customers include Georgia Southern University and landscaping companies BrightView and Yellowstone Landscape.
It has grown its staff in the past year from 15 to 26. Following the recent raise, it will grow its staff as much as 30% with hires in software engineering, Quinn said.
In the future, the company looks to expand its software to be used for the automation of construction and mining equipment such as pavement resurfacing or regrading.
The raise comes as venture funding into startups has hit a near 30% decline. Company valuations have been reset, making it more difficult to seek capital, while economic uncertainty has made investors more cautious.
Prior to starting Greenzie in 2018, Quinn was the CEO of Atlanta-based app development company Big Nerd Ranch after it acquired his previous company Highgroove Studios.
