Agreenculture, the France‑based autonomy specialist, has secured €6 million in Series A equity from Supernova Invest, Future Food Fund and Unilis (Unigrains Group). The company will use the funds to industrialise production, standardise its product for quick, ‘plug‑and‑play’ integration, and scale commercial operations across multiple geographies.
At the heart of its offer is the AGC Autonomy Kit, a retrofit package for tractor and machinery manufacturers that delivers precision, autonomy and safety in field operations. Crucially, Agreenculture says its Safencing® safety layer enables independent operation without local supervision, extending operating hours and enabling remote monitoring – a proposition designed to tackle the structural skilled labour shortage hitting agriculture and land management.
“Our ambition for every manufacturer is to provide a simple and safe autonomy kit capable of working without local supervision in the field. Providing tangible performance gains and generating cost and time savings for farmers,” said Christophe Aubé, CEO.
CTO Clément Baron added: “We want manufacturers to focus on their core business. We bring them a reliable, interoperable, ready‑to‑use product and to accelerate the deployment of autonomy in the fields. These solutions help farmers through saving time, increasing operational efficiency and productivity, while protecting operators’ health.”
Why ‘plug‑and‑play’ matters: lower risk, faster scaling for OEMs and farmers
Agreenculture pitches itself as the first technology supplier with a safe, certified autonomy system fully compliant with EU regulations for off‑road autonomous navigation and advanced obstacle avoidance. By standardising the kit and design, Aubé argues OEMs can shorten development cycles and bring certified autonomous machines to market faster.
That strategy is already playing out through collaborations with established manufacturers and ag robotics firms, including:
- Pellenc (RX20 vineyard crawler)
- Kubota (M7 tractor for field crops; KFAST sprayer for orchards)
- Kuhn (Karl field robot)
- Fieldworkers and Trabotyx (autonomous laser weeding robot TOR)
Agreenculture believes these partnerships are proof points that a ready‑to‑integrate autonomy layer can accelerate launch timelines while giving farmers confidence in serviceability through trusted dealer networks.
“We don’t sell directly to farmers; instead, our solutions are offered through long‑standing, trusted companies. This gives farmers confidence that the technology will remain operational for the long term,” Aubé told AgTechNavigator.
The farmer payback pitch: one‑year payback, 300% ROI in typical use
For farm buyers, the company is emphasizing a hard‑nosed ROI story. According to Aubé, payback can be as fast as one year in typical open‑field scenarios.
“Our autonomy kit delivers a quick payback, though the exact timeframe depends on the machine and how it’s used. For example, an open‑field farmer with 160 hectares typically sees payback within one year, with ROI often exceeding 300%. Labour shortages make it increasingly difficult to find skilled drivers, and our solution addresses that challenge.”
Agreenculture says its payback model is anchored in labour cost savings, with additional benefits including reduced inputs, better energy efficiency, production gains treated as upside rather than core. That framing is intentional: to overcome scepticism, the company focuses on demonstrable profitability on a per‑use‑case basis.
“Profitability, which is the most important factor for farmers, must be proven for each use case,” Aubé added. “Our sales team has analysed most of the farms targeted for autonomy to find the perfect balance between added value and price. We designed our product to be profitable for every link in the chain – from Agreenculture to the farmer, including sales companies, dealers, and, of course, farmers.”
Where autonomy fits best: from vineyards to big arable
The company is targeting both specialty and open‑field crops, with autonomy strongest on frequent, time‑intensive tasks such as weeding, spraying, soil preparation and tillage. That spans smaller, versatile platforms in vineyards and orchards and larger tractors for broadacre operations
The addressable farm size ranges from a few hectares to several hundred, depending on machine type and task profile – an approach that broadens the potential installed base while avoiding a one‑size‑fits‑all product.
Route‑to‑market: OEMs and dealer networks to build trust and velocity
A core pillar of Agreenculture’s strategy is not selling directly to farmers. Instead, the company integrates with OEMs and goes to market through established dealer networks. The rationale is that trusted brands and local support help de‑risk adoption for farmers, while OEMs gain a certified, pre‑packaged autonomy layer that doesn’t distract from their core machine engineering.
This distribution model also aligns incentives across the value chain. As Aubé put it, “All stakeholders have a vested interest in ensuring these machines are sold and actively used.”
Market ramp: Europe first, then the US and Japan
Agreenculture’s immediate priority is Europe across both open‑field and perennial crops. The company plans to expand next into the US and Japan, followed by select crops in South America.
“Over the next 18-24 months, we expect to deliver 200 autonomous machine kits. We already have strong partnerships with OEMs and promising prospects for the future… Our ability to onboard new customers and deliver additional autonomous kits in the coming years is critical to our growth and a major reason behind our recent funding. Another key factor is the simplicity of integration,” said Aubé.
Investor view: certification and compliance as a moat
Lead investor Supernova Invest frames Agreenculture’s safety‑first, certified approach as a decisive advantage in a heavily regulated European market.
“Agreenculture stands at the forefront of autonomous farming technologies. Their certified, safety‑first approach is a decisive advantage for manufacturers seeking reliable automation solutions,” said Romain Sautrau, partner at Supernova Invest. “In a European market that is heavily regulated, Agreenculture is two years ahead of the competition with its certified approach and active projects with world manufacturers like Kubota, Kuhn or Pellenc.”
Looking ahead, after a short demonstration phase, Sautrau forecasts “massive” adoption where the value proposition is clear.
Enabling regenerative outcomes: smaller machines, lighter footprints
While ROI is the headline, Agreenculture also positions autonomy as an enabler for regenerative agriculture. By replacing one large machine with multiple smaller, lighter platforms, the company believes farms can reduce soil compaction, lower fuel use, enable more precise input application and make cover cropping more affordable.
Sautrau summarised the broader benefit: “Beyond a positive impact on soil compaction and fuel consumption, autonomous navigation frees up a lot of time for farmers to focus on what really matters for the transition: agronomy and novel practices.”
Jeroen Kimmels, managing partner at early investor Future Food Fund, agreed: “Autonomous tractors and machines should not be seen simply as a way to relieve farmers of the burden of driving, but as a unique opportunity to change the way farming is done.”
Jean-François Hurel, director of another backer Unilis, added: “We support technologies that enable producers to spend more time on higher-value agronomic decisions and market opportunities – while safely and reliably automating repetitive tasks when it makes sense. Beyond responding to labour constraints, Agreenculture contributes to the productive and sustainable transition of agricultural operations.”
