Latvian agritech WeedBot raises €425k in a round led by Overkill Ventures

Riga-based laser weeding technology startup WeedBot has raised €425,000 in a new investment round led by Overkill Ventures. Accelerace also joined the round, along with several business angels in Latvia and the UK, Labs of Latvia reports.

• Founded in 2020, WeedBot is developing a high-precision laser technology to kill weeds. According to the company, the solution reduces time needed for weeding by five times. The machine looks like a typical agricultural machine, connecting to the rear of a tractor.
• For now, WeedBot is tailored to weeding carrots. However, later its use could be extended to other crops like lettuce, beetroots, and onions.

“To ‘catch’ the weeds, we’ve trained the AI to recognise what a carrot looks like at different stages of growth. The rest of the plants are treated with a laser beam. The weed is heated from the inside and dies completely or is so badly damaged that it takes a week to recover,”

Jānis Jaško, co-founder of WeedBot, explains.

• Both existing and new investors have contributed to this round. Riga-based Overkill Ventures is the lead investor this round. It is an angel fund that provides pre-seed funding to B2B tech startups.
• The round was also backed by the Danish business development organization Accelerace, joined by several angel investors from Latvia and the UK.
• The fresh capital will allow WeedBot to fund the production of its first commercial machine. The company is also preparing to raise further funding.