Landscaping businesses from across the country have reserved over 7,000 commercial-grade, self-driving lawnmowers developed by Boulder robotics company Scythe Robotics.
Scythe Robotics, founded in 2018, remained in stealth mode for nearly three years as it developed its autonomous technology. The company emerged from stealth last June when it announced a Series A funding round of $13.8 million. It began accepting reservations for its Scythe M.52 mower in October.
Now, it's garnered 7,000 reservations for units from commercial landscapers coast to coast who want to add the mowers to their fleets. The first mowers will be ready to ship by the end of the year, said Jack Morrison, a co-founder of Scythe.
Many of the reservations came in the last four months, during which Scythe has been performing demonstrations of its mower. The company hasn't yet hired a dedicated sales team.
"Without a formalized sales function, we were still able to reach such a high number so fast," Morrison said. "It really just demonstrates the power of the product and the need in the market for what we're building."
The Scythe M.52 is a 1,100-pound, all-electric mower that's outfitted with sensors and cameras that allow it to cut in straight lines and respond to the presence of humans, animals and other obstacles, according to the company.
Morrison, along with his co-founders Davis Foster and Isaac Roberts, developed the mowers with commercial landscaping in mind. They've seen interest from businesses that maintain large properties, such as parks, school campuses and office and housing developments, Morrison said.
The landscaping industry has faced a worker shortage for years, even before the U.S. labor market took a hit in 2021, according to the National Association of Workforce Boards. The industry is also grappling with the rising cost of gas to fuel their mowers, the National Association of Landscape Professionals has said.
Morrison asserts Scythe's autonomous mowers could help fill a workforce shortage and free workers to perform more skilled and detailed tasks, such as edging and pruning.
"The big reason we started Scythe four years ago now is that we just felt really acutely the pain of landscapers who couldn't find enough people to get the work done that they had contracted already, let alone take on new jobs and grow their businesses," Morrison said. "It's not easy work."
To reserve the Scythe M.52, companies must commit to using at least 10 and put down a $1,000 deposit for every 10 mowers they reserve. Once available, companies won't purchase the mowers — instead, Scythe will charge the companies for every acre they mow.
Scythe has filled its reservations for 2022 and most of 2023. The mowers will be put to use in Texas and Florida later this year and in early 2023 by some of the first companies to submit reservations, Morrison said. Scythe plans to work from 2024 to 2026 to fulfill its backlog of reservations and expand nationwide.
"We've always thought of ourselves as taking a steady approach to building something that's never existed before," Morrison said. "We want to be really methodical. We're super excited about the support from the industry and the enthusiasm folks have for it, but it's really reinforced the playbook we've been following of being intentional... and building the product as quickly as is responsible."
Scythe employs 42 people, including 30 in Colorado. Other staff members are split between Texas and Florida.
The company recently added a head of manufacturing, Brian Merkel, who previously worked as the head of manufacturing for Starlink, a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX. Jen Mongeois, the former lead recruiter for Magic Leap, also joined Scythe as its head of talent acquisition.
Morrison said Scythe plans to double its staff next year and will look to hire a broad spectrum of roles, including web developers, field operations staff, assembly technicians, supply chain managers, and a slate of engineers, including mechanical, electrical, robotics and firmware.
This article has been updated to reflect that 7,000 units are reserved.
