Setback
Small Robot Company shut down after failing to raise the money for its next stage; Kroll was appointed to sell its assets.
A delay, pause or setback
What the source says
“Small Robot Company (SRC) is shutting down as it failed to get the funding needed to reach its next phase.”
What it means
Tom crop-scanning robot, from Small Robot Company, is at stage 3 of 5 on our ladder: pilot. A setback stays on the record next to the milestones; the stage moves down only when the rules say so.
Human help: The maker hasn't said whether people help it remotely.
More on Tom crop-scanning robot
- Farmers Weekly reported that farmers who had invested in the company might not get their money back.
- Its lead investor pulled out of a planned funding round, leaving the company without money to keep going.
- The company said its service that season had shown up to 90% savings on weedkiller and 24% on fertiliser.
- The company said it would roll out its robot crop-scanning service to 50 farms the next season, with nearby farms sharing a robot.
- Waitrose's Leckford Estate farm was among the first in the UK to sign up for the robot service.
- At the end of 2022 the company launched version 4 of Tom, its crop-scouting robot.