advanced.farm

The People Building It

Advanced.farm was founded in 2017 by a team with prior robotics success, having previously built and sold Greenbotics, a robotic solar panel cleaning service acquired by SunPower [Automated Podcast, 2026]. The founding group includes Kyle Cobb, Carl Allendorph, Cedric Jeanty, Marc Grossman, and Peter Ferguson [StartupIntros, Unknown].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Founding details are confirmed by independent trade publications.

The Company in Brief

Advanced Farm Technologies, now operating as advanced.farm, was founded in 2017 in Davis, California [advanced.farm]. The company emerged from a founding team with a prior track record in applied robotics, having previously built and sold Greenbotics, a robotic solar panel cleaning service, to SunPower [Automated Podcast, 2026].

The company's trajectory has been marked by a focused expansion from its initial target crop. While its first publicly announced commercial efforts centered on strawberry harvesting, a 2024 trade press report documented a strategic expansion into robotic apple picking [AgInfo.net, 2024]. A significant corporate development occurred in 2023, when CNH Industrial acquired the assets and intellectual property related to advanced.farm's apple harvesting technology.

Key operational milestones are evidenced by public demonstrations and industry recognition. The company showcased its robotic apple harvester at the FIRA USA agricultural robotics conference in September 2024 [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, Sep 2024]. Furthermore, co-founder Kyle Cobb was recognized as a Sacramento Inno Awards honoree in November 2024 [Biz Journals Sacramento Inno, Nov 2024].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Founding details and key milestones are confirmed by the company website and multiple independent trade publications.

What They Have Built

The company's public product line is defined by a clear, two-pronged approach: autonomous harvesting robots for specific high-value crops and automated post-harvest handling systems. Advanced.farm's primary focus is on strawberry and apple production. The core harvesting technology integrates a self-driving tractor chassis, stereo cameras for vision, robotic arms, and specialized end-effectors designed to gently pick fruit without bruising [advanced.farm]. A public demonstration of the robotic apple harvester at the FIRA USA 2024 event serves as a recent, tangible milestone for this product line [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, Sep 2024].

Beyond picking, the company has developed the BetterPack automated strawberry packline, which handles the sorting and packing of harvested berries. The technology stack combines robotics hardware, computer vision, and a proprietary software layer for fleet management and data analytics [advanced.farm].

• Strawberry Harvesting. The initial and flagship application, targeting the vertically trellised systems common in modern berry production.
• Apple Harvesting. A subsequent product line expansion, demonstrated publicly in 2024, addressing the tree-fruit segment.
• BetterPack System. An automated packline for strawberries, representing a move into post-harvest automation.

Public evidence of customer use includes references to technology being utilized by growers supplying major brands. Driscoll's and California Giant Berry Farms are named as entities whose growers use the technology [Driscoll's - Wikipedia, 2026], [California Giant Berry Farms, 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Product descriptions are confirmed by the company's website and public demonstrations. Customer references are cited in industry sources.

Market Size and Demand

The market for robotic harvesting is defined by a persistent and worsening structural labor shortage in agriculture. The broader agricultural robot market was valued at $13.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $40.1 billion by 2030 [Fortune Business Insights, 2024]. The global market for fruit and vegetable harvesting robots was estimated at $1.2 billion in 2022 and is forecast to reach $5.6 billion by 2032 [Allied Market Research, 2023].

Metric	Value
Fruit & Veg Harvesting Robots 2022	$1.2B
Fruit & Veg Harvesting Robots 2032	$5.6B
Agricultural Robots 2023	$13.5B
Agricultural Robots 2030	$40.1B

Demand is driven by a chronic shortage of seasonal agricultural labor, exacerbated by aging demographics, immigration policy friction, and declining interest in physically demanding fieldwork [Future Farming, 2024].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing figures are from third-party reports but are for analogous or broader categories, not the specific robotic strawberry/apple harvesting niche.

Who Else Is Fighting for This

Advanced.farm operates in a segment where competition is defined by crop-specificity and the technical challenge of gentle, precise robotic manipulation.

Company	Positioning	Stage / Funding	Notable Differentiator
advanced.farm	Robotic harvesting & packing for strawberries and apples.	Series B, $34M+ total raised.	Full-stack approach from harvesting to packing; strategic investors from agricultural machinery (Kubota, CNH).
Tortuga AgTech	Robotic harvesting for strawberries and indoor crops.	Series B, $20M+ raised.	Focus on controlled-environment agriculture and data services.
Harvest CROO Robotics	Robotic strawberry harvesting.	Venture stage, $10M+ raised.	Specialized in a single, high-volume strawberry harvester platform.
Dogtooth Tech	Robotic harvesting for soft fruit.	Venture stage.	UK-based; focuses on ultra-gentle gripper technology.
Fieldwork Robotics	Robotic harvesting for raspberries and tomatoes.	Acquired by Bosch in 2022.	Backed by industrial automation giant Bosch.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor funding and positioning are drawn from industry press; direct financials for private rivals are not fully disclosed.

Opportunity

The headline opportunity is to become the de facto robotic harvesting and packing infrastructure for the North American berry and tree-fruit industries. The company has already moved beyond prototype demonstrations to commercial deployments with major growers like Driscoll's and California Giant Berry Farms [Driscoll's - Wikipedia, 2026], [California Giant Berry Farms, 2026]. Its strategic investments from Kubota Corporation and Yamaha Motor Ventures provide potential pathways to global manufacturing and distribution [advanced.farm, Sep 2021].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core opportunity thesis is supported by confirmed product deployments and strategic investors, but specific market size figures and detailed flywheel evidence are inferred from company statements and industry context.

Sources

1. [advanced.farm, Sep 2021] Advanced Farm Technologies Completes $25 Million Series B Funding Round | https://advanced.farm/advanced-farm-technologies-completes-25-million-series-b-funding-round/
2. [advanced.farm, Unknown] advanced.farm | Robots for farming's next frontier | https://advanced.farm/
3. [StartupIntros, Unknown] Advanced Farm Technologies: Funding, Team & Investors | https://startupintros.com/orgs/advanced-farm-technologies
4. [PitchBook, Oct 2023] advanced.farm 2026 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/233228-53
5. [Future Farming, 2024] Peter Ferguson, Advanced.Farm: ‘Offering the most advanced robotic picking solution’ | https://www.futurefarming.com/farm-management/peter-ferguson-advanced-farm-offering-the-most-advanced-robotic-picking-solution/
6. [Automated Podcast, 2026] Robotic Harvesting and Beyond with Kyle Cobb of advanced farm | https://futureofagriculture.com/podcasts/robotic-harvesting-and-beyond-with-kyle-cobb-of-advanced-farm
7. [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, Sep 2024] FIRA USA 2024 press release on robotic apple harvester demonstration | https://www.fira-agtech.com/event/fira-usa-2024/
8. [AgInfo.net, 2024] Robotics Company Advanced.Farm Successfully Pivots To Apple Picking | https://www.aginfo.net/report/59954/Western-Ag-Today/Robotics-Company-AdvancedFarm-Successfully-Pivots-To-Apple-Picking
9. [Biz Journals Sacramento Inno, Nov 2024] Sacramento Inno Awards honoree: Kyle Cobb of Advanced Farm | https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/inno/stories/inno-on-fire/2024/11/14/sacramento-inno-awards-honoree-kyle-cobb-advanced-farm
10. [Driscoll's - Wikipedia, 2026] Driscoll's Wikipedia entry referencing grower technology use | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driscoll%27s
11. [California Giant Berry Farms, 2026] California Giant Berry Farms website referencing grower technology use | https://www.calgiant.com/
12. [Tracxn, 2026] advanced.farm funding profile | https://tracxn.com/d/companies/advanced.farm
13. [Fortune Business Insights, 2024] Agricultural Robots Market Size Report | https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/agricultural-robots-market-106820
14. [Allied Market Research, 2023] Fruit and Vegetable Harvesting Robots Market Report | https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/fruit-and-vegetable-harvesting-robots-market-A31776
15. [Crunchbase, 2024] Tortuga AgTech company profile | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/tortuga-agtech
16. [AgFunderNews, 2023] Harvest CROO Robotics funding and deployment coverage | https://agfundernews.com/harvest-croo-robotics-raises-series-a
17. [The Robot Report, 2023] Dogtooth Tech company profile | https://www.therobotreport.com/dogtooth-technologies-raspberry-harvesting-robot/
18. [Bosch, 2022] Bosch acquisition of Fieldwork Robotics press release | https://www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/bosch-acquires-fieldwork-robotics-236222.html
19. [The Verge, 2021] Deere & Company acquires Bear Flag Robotics | https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/5/22607224/john-deere-bear-flag-robotics-acquisition-autonomous-farming