Saga Robotics has raised $11.2 million to expand the use of its Thorvald autonomous farming robots in the UK and US. The funding round brought in new backer Praesidium Agri-FoodTech alongside existing investors including Aker, Nysnø Climate Investments, Blystad, Hatteland, Melesio, Sanden, and MP Pensjon. Thorvald is already in use on more than 150 farms, providing disease control and crop monitoring for strawberry and vineyard operations. Saga plans to use the new capital to increase its share of the UK strawberry market, scale its presence in US vineyards—supported by California’s agricultural grant programmes—and further develop its data-driven yield prediction tools.
Saga Robotics is a Norway- and UK-based agricultural technology company that develops and operates Thorvald, an autonomous, modular platform designed for use in specialty crops such as strawberries and grapes. The system can be equipped for tasks including ultraviolet light treatment to reduce crop disease, data collection for yield forecasting, and other precision farming applications. Thorvald units are in use across commercial farms in Europe and North America, with operations focused on reducing chemical inputs, automating labour-intensive processes, and providing growers with actionable crop performance data.
Alongside the raise, Saga Robotics has strengthened its Board with additional industry expertise. Dorn Wenninger (Chair), Atle Eide (Aker) and Yvonne Silden Langlo (Nysnø) remain in place, joined by new members Laila Danielsen, CEO of the global AI software company Elliptic Labs, and Alice Laurora of Praesidium Agri-FoodTech, who joins as an observer.
“The Thorvald robot has moved from a prototype to a fully commercially deployed autonomous solution, already servicing thousands of acres in 2025.” said Alice Laurora, Vice President at Praesidium Agri-FoodTech. “We’re investing in Saga Robotics because they have the right team, the right tech, proven technology, and a clear path to scale in high-value, underserved agricultural sectors.”
The funding was completed in two stages, with the first tranche of $7.8 million closing on June 23, 2025. This initial round was oversubscribed and directed mainly toward existing investors. The second tranche, totaling $3.4 million, closed on July 8, 2025, and focused on bringing in new investors and strategic partners.
Dorn Wenninger, Board Chair of Saga Robotics commented, “Our solid commercial performance was an important enabler for us to close this funding round in what is a relatively demanding capital market. The continued backing of existing shareholders who know the company well, along with the addition of new investors such as Praesidium Agri-FoodTech is testament to the solid foundations of our core business and our pipeline of growth.”
Saga Robotics will use the capital to accelerate the commercial rollout of Thorvald across the UK and US. In the UK, Thorvald now supports 13 leading strawberry growers and treats around 20% of the national market, with a target to exceed 30% in 2026. In the 2025 growing season Saga recorded its first commercial revenue from its yield prediction data tool. The company has a unique opportunity to leverage the data collected during its treatment of thousands of acres each week.
In the US, Thorvald is already operating across more than 1,300 acres of vineyards, with plans to triple that footprint by 2026. The platform has been approved and included in California’s CORE incentive program, offering substantial grants for robot sales.
In total, over 150 Thorvald 3.0 units are active in the field in the 2025 growing season.
“We’ve proven Thorvald works, now we’re scaling it,” said founder Pål Johan From, who recently relocated to California to lead US operations. “This raise gives us the runway to accelerate adoption, improve efficiency in agriculture, and reduce chemical use across two of the world’s most chemically dependent specialty crop markets.”
“When I joined Saga Robotics, the potential was clear, and this level of investor interest confirms it,” said CEO Sacha de La Noë. “With Pål driving expansion in the US and strong traction in the UK, we’re entering a new phase focused on scale and impact. We’re not just gaining ground, we’re accelerating.”
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/saga-robotics-raises-11-2-million/
