Burro is a robotics company specializing in autonomous mobility solutions for the agricultural industry. Based in Philadelphia, the company was founded in 2017 under the original name Augean Robotics. Burro focuses on creating robots that work collaboratively with farm workers to enhance productivity and address labor shortages. As of 2024, the company has raised significant funds through various investment rounds, most recently closing a $24 million Series B round. The company's technology utilizes advanced AI and computer vision to operate effectively in dynamic, unstructured environments, allowing farm workers to focus on more critical tasks.
| Attribute | Information |
|---|---|
| Founding Date | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Founders | Initially known as Augean Robotics |
| Revenue | Not publicly disclosed |
| Profits | Not publicly disclosed |
| Key Investors | Catalyst Investors, Translink Capital, S2G Ventures |
| Industry | Agricultural Robotics |
| Number of Employees | 44 |
Burro, originally known as Augean Robotics, was founded in 2017 as a response to the growing labor shortages in the agricultural sector. The company aimed to create autonomous robots that could complement human labor by handling physically demanding tasks. The company quickly focused on developing a fully autonomous platform capable of operating in the complex environments of specialty crop fields. Initial prototypes, namely the Burro units, were designed to follow human workers autonomously while transporting loads up to several hundred pounds. This approach utilized innovative machine learning and computer vision technologies, setting the groundwork for Burro's unique "pop-up autonomy" approach.
Burro operates by focusing on developing utility robots for agriculture that can immediately integrate into existing work environments without the need for extensive operator training or central management systems.
Burro is positioned at the forefront of the agricultural robotics industry with its emphasis on collaborative robots. By mid-2024, it had over 300,000 hours of robot operation under its belt, providing services that improve efficiency in labor-intensive tasks. The company’s unique selling proposition lies in its ability to enhance human labor, not replace it, making their technology attractive to both small-scale and large-scale farming operations. Burro plans to further penetrate the U.S. market while exploring opportunities in new international territories.
Burro represents a pioneering force in the agricultural robotics landscape, with its innovations significantly easing labor pressures in agricultural settings. Its collaborative robots enable farm workers to perform critical tasks more efficiently, positioning Burro as a leader in agricultural technology. With ongoing improvements and scalability plans, Burro is poised to expand its impact, potentially becoming a dominant force in outdoor autonomous robotics. The company's trajectory indicates a future where human workers collaborate seamlessly with intelligent robots to achieve enhanced productivity and operational efficiency.