Salmon Arm, British Columbia-based AgTech startup 4AG Robotics has raised $40 million in Series B funding to enhance the manufacturing of its robots, designed to harvest mushrooms as efficiently as human hands.
“You can’t build hardware in the agricultural space on a shoestring budget.” — Sean O’Connor, 4AG Robotics
The equity round was led by AgTech investors Astanor and Cibus Capital, with new investor Voyager Capital joining and returning investors InBC, Emmertech, BDC Capital, James Richardson & Sons, and Stray Dog Capital participating. This funding round, completed in mid-July, boosts 4AG’s total fundraising to over $60 million.
Pronounced “forage,” 4AG has developed a robot that autonomously picks mushrooms using patented suction-cup technology. 4AG combines this hardware with AI tools for crop yield management and disease detection. CEO Sean O’Connor described the company as an “AI company” that needed to first develop the hardware.
Harry Briggs, partner at Astanor, stated that 4AG could lead the transformation of agriculture with AI and robotics.
The new funds will be used to develop AI-powered features, expand the team, and increase robot production for global customers. 4AG is looking to add 30 employees to its 78-member team for field services and customer success roles.
Customer satisfaction and follow-on orders facilitated the financing round, O’Connor noted. The company has sold 53 robots to date and is fully booked until February 2026. Sales have been made in Canada, Ireland, and Australia, with interest from the US and the Netherlands.
“We’re seeing fleet expansion toward that fully optimized, fully automated farm, which is really exciting,” said O’Connor.
4AG’s robots aim to automate labor-intensive mushroom-picking, trimming, and packing tasks. The Canadian Occupational Projection System notes difficulties in hiring for harvesting jobs due to various factors. A 2022 survey indicated 60% of Canadian mushroom farms struggled to hire necessary workers.
Mushrooms are harvested year-round, posing hiring challenges. Amid high demand, 4AG earned $2.5 million in revenue last year and anticipates $7 million by 2025. In late 2023, the startup raised $17.5 million.
Founded in 1999 as TechBrew Robotics, the company focused on one-off robotics solutions for various industries before pivoting to the mushroom industry. In 2023, it hired O’Connor and rebranded as 4AG Robotics.
The Series B financing was a “good up round,” defying the Canadian AgTech industry trend of dependence on public funding due to limited later-stage funding opportunities.
4AG’s round was oversubscribed, maintaining dilution terms by turning down investors. The company plans to secure an additional $10 million in debt financing.
O’Connor expressed hope that more Canadian hardware companies would receive upfront financing opportunities like 4AG has experienced.
“You have to have enough capital to make mistakes. You have to have enough capital to move faster,” he stated.
Expanding 4AG’s robotic capabilities beyond fungi is a distant possibility, O’Connor noted. “We constantly say we’ll be successful based on what we say ‘no’ to,” he said. “For now, it’s all mushrooms.”
Feature image courtesy 4AG Robotics.