Insider Brief
- Aigen, an AI-driven robotics company, successfully closed a $12 million Series A financing round led by ReGen Ventures, with participation from NEA, Cleveland Avenue, Incite, and Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLLP.
- This funding will boost Aigen’s manufacturing capabilities in response to strong pre-order demand and support its vision of sustainable, scalable agriculture.
- Aigen specializes in creating solar-powered autonomous robots for chemical-free crop management, integrating advanced technologies like AI, ML, solar, and battery technology.
PRESS RELEASE — KIRKLAND, Wash., November 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Aigen, an AI-driven robotics company, closed $12 million in Series A financing from leading investor ReGen Ventures along with NEA, Cleveland Avenue, Incite, and Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLLP. The funding expands Aigen’s manufacturing capacity to meet high pre-order demand and create a new agricultural era that is both sustainable and scalable.
“ReGen Ventures believes that innovation is the cornerstone of a regenerative future, and that’s why we invest in visionary companies like Aigen,” said Marcario. “The Aigen team’s exceptional progress in hardware and software development has us eagerly supporting their next phase — scaling.”
Founded in 2020, Aigen is the only agricultural technology company developing truly solar-powered autonomous robots for crop management without chemicals or fossil fuels. The Aigen Element robots combine LTE connectivity with the cutting edge of AI, ML, solar, and battery technology to create a reliable, sustainable product that saves farmers time and money.
“Aigen is defining a new era for agriculture, where farmers prosper and people are healthier. Getting chemicals out of our food is not only incredibly important for fighting climate change, it’s also personal for Kenny and Rich,” said Swati Mylavarapu, managing partner at Incite. “The Aigen team embodies what Incite looks for in our investments: talented entrepreneurs who have the power to make the world a better place. We are thrilled to be joining them.”
To date, Aigen has successfully demonstrated and integrated all critical technologies to solve farmers’ most urgent problem: eliminating herbicide resistant weeds at scale. With a total $19 million raised, Aigen is building a 7,500 sq ft manufacturing and R&D facility to manufacture their solar-powered robotic fleet.
“Agriculture is the intersection of human health and planetary health and that’s why we focused on creating technology for farmers that is both profitable and sustainable. Our robotic fleet empowers farmers to escape the conventional system of chemical dependency,” said Kenny Lee, co-founder and CEO of Aigen. “Thank you to our amazing team who have accomplished so much in the past year. We are humbled by the support of our investors and incredibly excited to scale our fleet into 2024 and beyond.”
“Aigen wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago, because the technology wasn’t there. Today, we have a great team working on the cutting edge of AI, robotics, electric motors, and solar power,” said Rich Wurden, co-founder and CTO of Aigen. “Thanks to technological advances in all those areas and the incredible work of our team, we are automating farming solutions that have worked for thousands of years and helping farmers get chemicals off their farms and out of our food.”
The Aigen Element robotics service will debut on over 20,000 acres of U.S. farmland arriving on farms in April 2024 to transform weed control and real-time farming insights.
About Aigen
At Aigen, we’re building a future with no harmful chemicals in our food, where farmers thrive, communities prosper, and the planet flourishes.
With roots in farming, electric vehicles, robotics and impact investing, Rich Wurden and Kenny Lee founded Aigen in 2020 to connect farmers to breakthrough technologies, decarbonize agriculture, and improve human and planetary health. Aigen’s Element robotic fleet can autonomously navigate, weed, and analyze row crops without any chemicals or diesel fuel. Offered as a service and powered 100% by solar and wind, Aigen’s vehicles reduce farmers’ workload and their reliance on fossil fuels, while increasing their crop and soil health.
Kirkland-based Aigen is backed by ReGen Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Cleveland Avenue, Incite, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLLP, Bessemer Venture Partners, Global Founders Capital, Industrious Ventures, E2JDJ, and AgFunder.
Learn more at https://aigen.io
About ReGen Ventures
ReGen partners with founders daring to build companies that will restore our planet.
http://regen.vc
