Aero 41, a home-grown agricultural-technology company that provides crop-spraying solution using their drones and proprietary software, has raised a significant amount in seed funding from Boundary Holding, a European deep-tech investment firm. The exact financial details are expected to be released soon.
The agro-tech Switzerland-based company, which sells Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and related spare parts for agricultural use, mainly to farmers and resellers, will utilize the funds to explore the future for farmers based on the most innovative technologies, add other crops to their service areas and expand sales in Europe and the US.
Integrating technology in agricultural sector is an inescapable reality today, considering the numerous challenges pain-points that farmers otherwise face in farming.
Pesticides are extensively used in agriculture to control harmful pests and prevent crop yield losses. But pesticides may cause undesirable effects to human health and to the environment when done manually. Farmers are routinely exposed to high levels of pesticides, which mostly occurs during the preparation and application of the pesticide spray solutions. Farmers who mix, load, and spray pesticides can be exposed to these chemicals due to spills and splashes and direct spray contact.
The use UAVs in crop-spraying is considered safer and more precise than the conventional methods. Nearly everyone working on the future of modern agriculture is focused on efficiency.
Developed in Switzerland by Aero 41, the 17-litre AGv2 is specifically designed to meet the stringent requirements for work in vineyards and vertically growing, added-value crops. At 10.5 km per hour, its superior processing speed helps save time when moving from one area to the other during spraying campaign. Its optimised spraying ramp allows ideal distribution. This solution is increasingly being preferred by organic farmers as it allows automated operations with minimal human intervention.
Rajat Khare, founder of Boundary Holding, is expecting his company’s latest investment to help spur growth in this increasingly developing sector.
“Drone usage in the agricultural sector is booming. Drone sprayers are able to navigate very hard to reach areas, such as steep tea fields at high elevations. They also save workers from having to navigate fields with backpack sprayers, which can be hazardous to their health. Aero 41’s technology can be targeted to specific areas to maximize efficiency and save on chemical costs.”
The partnership between Boundary Holding and Aero 41, according to them, is not merely based on infusion of funds, but on a long-term strategy to nurture sales, growth and expansion to various geographies.
The global smart agriculture market size was valued at approximately $16 billion in 2019, and is estimated to reach $29 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 9.7% from 2021 to 2027.
This rising trend is reflected in the way farming is done in several countries today. Agriculture technology is penetrating the market at an accelerated pace in modern farms and agricultural operations, allowing businesses to be more profitable, efficient, safer, and more environmentally friendly.
