Dogtooth raises GBP £14 million for fruit-harvesting robots

Dogtooth has raised more than £14 million in growth capital for its robotic fruit-harvesting business. The funding will support wider commercial deployment in the UK and overseas.

The Cambridge company builds autonomous robots that identify ripe fruit, move through fields and pick crops such as strawberries for large-scale growers. The round includes equity from 24 Haymarket, EMV Capital and ACF Investors, alongside grants from Innovate UK and a venture leasing facility from Kineo Finance.

Dogtooth has already begun deploying its systems commercially, including at Dyson Farming. Trials of its Gen 5 robot there increased picking rates from one or two berries a minute to more than seven, according to the company.

The investment comes as growers face persistent labour shortages and rising seasonal labour costs, pressures that have focused more attention on automation in horticulture. Robotic harvesting has long been considered difficult because machines must identify ripeness accurately and handle delicate produce without causing damage.

Dogtooth says its systems use computer vision, artificial intelligence and robotic manipulation to operate in complex growing environments. It is positioning its machines as a way for producers to maintain output when access to workers becomes less predictable.

Investor backing

Investors pointed to the company's progress from early development to use on commercial farms. The funding mix spans venture capital, grants and equipment finance, giving Dogtooth multiple sources of capital as it expands deployments.

"This investment represents a significant milestone for Dogtooth and for the broader adoption of embodied AI in agriculture. For many years, robotic harvesting has been viewed as a distant aspiration. Today, growers are deploying our robots on commercial farms because labour shortages are a reality that cannot be ignored. The convergence of AI, robotics and practical customer demand is creating a unique opportunity to transform fruit and vegetable production," said Duncan Robertson, Chief Executive Officer, Dogtooth Technologies.

The company is part of a wider push to apply artificial intelligence to machines operating in the physical world, an area often described by investors and industry observers as embodied AI. In agriculture, that interest has centred on tasks where labour is scarce and automation has proved technically difficult.

Harvesting fruit is one of the more demanding use cases because crops do not ripen uniformly and can be easily bruised. That has slowed commercial adoption compared with more structured factory settings, even as interest in agricultural robotics has increased.

Commercial focus

Dogtooth says the new funds will be used to expand commercial deployments and strengthen its technology platform. The business is focused on horticulture, where growers have been under pressure to preserve yields while managing labour availability and costs.

Its deployment at Dyson Farming is an early sign of commercial traction in the UK market. The reported improvement in picking speed offers a measurable benchmark for how far robotic harvesting systems have progressed from trial concepts to field use.

"Dogtooth has established itself as one of the world's leading agricultural robotics companies through a combination of deep technical expertise, perseverance and commercial focus. The team has achieved what many believed would be impossible: reliably harvesting delicate crops in real-world commercial environments. We are delighted to support the company's next phase of growth," said Paul Tselentis, Managing Director, 24 Haymarket.

Existing investors also used the round to underline their continued support as the business moves into a broader sales phase. That continuity can matter for hardware companies, which often need more capital and longer development timelines than software businesses.

"Having backed Dogtooth from its early days, we have seen the exceptional progress the company has made in developing and deploying technology that addresses one of agriculture's most significant challenges and demonstrates the substantial commercial potential of robotics in the sector. We are delighted to continue supporting the team as they accelerate global commercial growth," said Tim Mills, Managing Partner, ACF Investors.

EMV Capital, which said it had backed the company since its pre-seed stage through Martlet Capital, also participated in the financing. The investor described Dogtooth as an example of deep technology moving from research-led development into practical use.

"Precision robotics and AI applied to agriculture at commercial scale is exactly the kind of outsized, real-world impact EMV Capital seeks to invest in. Dogtooth exemplifies our investment thesis: finding world-class deeptech teams early, adding value through our platform and scaling our commitment as the business proves itself. Having backed the company since pre-seed through Martlet Capital, we are continuing that support through our EIS Fund and private practice - reflecting our view that the strongest investor relationships deepen as a business matures," said Ilian Iliev.