Agritech robotics firm Niqo Robotics (formerly TartanSense) announced on Tuesday that it has raised $13 million in a Series B funding round led by Bidra Innovation Ventures. This round also saw significant investments from new investor Fulcrum Global Capital and existing investor Omnivore.
With this latest funding, Niqo’s total raised amounts to $21 million, including a $5 million Series A round from FMC, Omnivore, and Blume Ventures in August 2021, and a $2 million Seed round in 2019. According to Jaisimha Rao, founder and CEO of Niqo, the company plans to expand to new markets and accelerate the global commercial adoption of its spot spray technology.
Niqo Robotics specializes in developing compact agricultural robots equipped with AI-driven computer vision technology, which aims to reduce costs and increase profitability. The robots use a proprietary AI camera with deep learning models to identify and selectively spray target plants, cutting chemical usage by up to 90%.
In 2023-24, Niqo aims to commercialize over 90,000 acres of land, benefiting more than 1,800 farmers. Although the company has not yet disclosed audited FY24 numbers, its Indian entity largely remained in the pre-revenue stage during FY23, with a revenue of only Rs 1.3 crore and losses doubling to Rs 9.8 crore.
As of the latest funding round, Omnivore Partners holds the largest external stake in Niqo at 25.7%, followed by Bidra Innovation at 18% and Blume Ventures at 10.7%.