A Lawrenceville-based agriculture-tech startup has landed $4.4 million in external funding that will be used to aid the company's growth of its robotics-based technology that's being used by international companies in the specialty crop industry.
Bloomfield Robotics CEO Mark DeSantis said he's looking forward to growing the startup's relationship with Osaka, Japan-based agricultural machinery company Kubota Corp. and Bordeaux, France-based wine producer Oeneo Group, both of which invested in the company's "little-A" series funding raise, as described by DeSantis.
Kubota, which led the round, is a repeat investor in the company and is already deploying Bloomfield's tech on some of its tractors for crop monitoring purposes. Its investment alongside the one made by Oeneo and other partners brings Bloomfield's total funding to about $10 million when accounting for prior rounds and grant funding awards.
"Through partnership between Kubota and Bloomfield, we believe that we can provide more precise and efficient farm operations and create new values for farmers by collaborating with some of both companies' technology, products and services," Koji Hasegawa, general manager of Kubota's Innovation Center in Silicon Valley, said in a prepared statement.
DeSantis said it took the company about four months to raise the funds, and he expects to start the process of launching another round later this year. Bloomfield's raise also comes amid a national scale back in funding deals for startups during an economic downturn primarily impacting tech companies of all sizes.
Being intentional in selecting the right type of partners for such an investment was crucial, DeSantis said, and he noted that these investors are also looking to strategically benefit from working with Bloomfield as well. The geographic locations and expertise offered by these companies will also aid Bloomfield's growth, DeSantis said.
"There were instances when we probably could have taken capital from folks, but they didn't quite fit that profile," DeSantis said. "We really decided to be choosy about who we brought in this round."
DeSantis said the company has paying customers at over a dozen vineyards in several countries and had previously noted that it was expecting to finish 2022 with "just under $1 million in revenue." The company's tech is currently tailored for grape inspection and monitoring on vineyards on a plant-by-plant basis, though additional specialty crop types are to come in the future.
Bloomfield employs about 20 workers full-time. It recently moved into its new Lawrenceville headquarters after operating out of a coworking space on the South Side.
