New Zealand-based robotics startup Agovor is drawing early investor backing as automation continues to gain traction across horticulture. The company has secured A$3 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round, a ringing endorsement for its fully automated tractors. The financing highlights growing investor interest in agricultural robotics, particularly in horticulture where labor availability, productivity pressures and cost dynamics continue to reshape operating models. Agovor’s latest funding round positions the company among a cohort of early-stage innovators seeking to commercialize automation tools designed for specialty crop production.

Led by Tenacious Ventures Australia, the round extended to Hort Innovation Australia through the Hort Innovation Investment Fund, a venture capital fund specializing in farming robotics and managed by alternative investment management firm Artesian, alongside capital from an individual investor supported by New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus scheme. Proceeds from the round will be directed toward expanding R&D in Sydney, Australia as well as bolstering its sales and service infrastructure in the New Zealand and Australia markets, per the company.

Agovor co-founders Richard Beaumont and Simon Carroll touted the investment round as a “huge vote of confidence from the Australian industry in Agovor’s practical approach to creating affordable autonomous robots for horticultural use.” Beaumont went on to say, “Agovor started as a way to solve a problem for our own use at Ardmore Nurseries. We had the same problems as everyone else – labor constrained, while trying to reduce costs – but there were too many barriers for adoption of new solutions.”

Agovor’s platform is built around a small, fully electric autonomous tractor designed for the day-to-day needs of horticultural operations. The vehicle works in tandem with a range of towed attachments, enabling it to perform routine but labor-intensive tasks such as mowing and spraying. Its compact, lightweight design allows it to move easily through narrow rows and tighter planting setups that are common in specialty crop production.

Agovor’s electric autonomous e-tractor can operate for up to 10 hours at a time, giving growers a machine designed to stay active through long work cycles. The compact, lightweight units are built for the tighter layouts typical of horticultural production, allowing them to move through narrow rows while continuing to function in conditions ranging from heat and cold to rain and wind. When paired with towed attachments such as mowers and sprayers, the system is aimed at supporting the everyday tasks that occupy much of a grower’s time. By focusing on smaller autonomous equipment rather than large tractors, Agovor’s model offers growers more latitude in how fieldwork is scheduled and how machinery is used, helping ease some of the operational bottlenecks that can slow down farming production.

Alongside the machines, Agovor’s Portal provides operators with the technology to dispatch, monitor and manage activity across anything from a single eTractor to multiple units running together. This fleet-based model allows growers to coordinate work at a scale in a more economical way compared with conventional driver-operated tractors, according to the announcement.

Hort Innovation General Manager of Production and Sustainability Anthony Kachenko commented, “Growers are telling us that Agovor’s technology is delivering real‑world savings where it counts. Early adopters are already seeing upward of A$30,000 in annual savings, alongside a 90 percent reduction in water use and a 12.5 percent reduction in chemical inputs. These machines may be small, but they’re mighty when it comes to opening doors for horticulture growers — boosting efficiency, lowering input
costs and making on‑farm automation more accessible across the sector.”

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