Augmentus raises seed funding for its 'no-code' robotics system

For robotics to drown out the hype and become more mainstream in food, ag, and other industries would require “making factories less dependent on expert suppliers and engineering departments,” consultancy McKinsey suggests in a a recent research report. Co-founder and CEO Leong Yong Shin told AFN that agrifood businesses represent approximately 20% of the startup’s client base. With relative ease, users in the indoor ag industry can “self-develop” AI to recognise different types of plants by “simply snapping photographs using an iPad,” Leong explained. “Users have the power to develop and fine-tune automation catered to their unique needs and setups without heavy investment.As a result, instead of budgeting hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire or outsource AI and robot engineers, urban farms can focus on their core competencies in optimizing agricultural design and output,” he added. Will Klippgen, managing partner at Cocoon Capital, told AFN that his firm had been impressed by the Augmentus team’s traction and minimum viable product (MVP).