A vineyard manager's most expensive decisions happen in the dark. Without precise data, a suspected outbreak of downy mildew can lead to spraying an entire block with fungicide, a costly and wasteful insurance policy. DRONEQUBE is betting that the right data, delivered daily by autonomous drones and processed by specialized AI, can turn that blanket coverage into targeted treatment.
Founded in 2023, the agtech startup is building a full-stack platform for high-value specialty crops, starting with viticulture. It combines autonomous drones and ground vehicles with a software layer designed to identify specific pests and diseases, then execute precision spraying missions. The company's early traction is measured in a €1 million seed round led by Florbs with participation from BlueHeart Energy [Tracxn, April 2025].
The full-stack robotics wedge
DRONEQUBE's differentiation rests on integrating hardware, software, and domain-specific AI into a single SaaS offering. The platform orchestrates three types of robotic missions: survey flights for multispectral crop health imaging, scout missions for up-close visual inspection where AI flags potential issues, and spray missions for precision application [droneqube.com, retrieved 2026].
The technical core is a set of AI algorithms trained to recognize specific vineyard threats, including Plasmopara viticola (downy mildew) and Planococcus spp. (mealybugs) [droneqube.com, retrieved 2026]. A proprietary Photo Alignment Engine is designed to ensure consistent, high-quality image data for analysis [droneqube.com, retrieved 2026].
Founders with a patent portfolio
The team is built around co-founders Murat Merdin (CEO) and Oğuz Deniz Merdin (CTO), who bring an estimated 18 years of combined experience in robotics [StartupDeal, retrieved 2026]. Murat Merdin's background includes founding MET Robotics and holds multiple patents, including one for a multi-use UAV docking station system [patents.google.com, retrieved 2026][Crunchbase, retrieved 2026].
| Founder | Role | Key Background & Assets |
|---|---|---|
| Murat Merdin | CEO, Co-Founder | 13 patents in robotics & AI; founder of MET Robotics; UAV docking station patent [Crunchbase][patents.google.com]. |
| Oğuz Deniz Merdin | CTO, Co-Founder | Combined 18 years in robotics with co-founder (estimated) [StartupDeal]. |
Where the field gets tricky
The ambition is clear, but the path to scale in agriculture is notoriously hard. DRONEQUBE is entering a competitive space with established players like AeroVironment and Skydio. The startup's claims, including a 30% reduction in chemical use and safeguarding 4 million hectares from yield loss, are sourced from its own website and lack third-party verification [droneqube.com, 2024][droneqube.com, retrieved 2026].
Operational complexity is the other major hurdle. The company's dual corporate presence, headquartered in Dover, Delaware with R&D in İzmir, Turkey, could streamline development but may complicate field service and customer support logistics. The sober assessment is that the platform's reliability will be tested at the intersection of hardware durability and algorithmic accuracy. The next twelve months will be about converting its seed funding into validated, repeatable customer deployments.