AI and Robotics startup TerraClear secured $25 Million

TerraClear, a Grangeville-based applied Artificial Intelligence and Robotics company has secured $25 million in a Series A funding round.

TerraClear is founded by Brent Frei. The company is applying AI and robotics to clearing fields of rocks that slows farming and also damages the expensive equipment. Moreover, this year, the company revealed the first Rock Picker, which enables customers to remove rocks. 

Rock Picker picks on an average of 400 rocks per hour. It works today on a compact track loader or skid steer and will soon be compatible with the front-end loaders on the tractors. Rock Picker takes less than five minutes to mount and works in any condition.

Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group, Matt McIlwain, said, "The TerraClear team has incredible passion and expertise in both the customer base and the technology needed to address this huge problem for farmers. Rock picking fits into the category of dull, dangerous, and dirty. It’s a perfect application of robotics and AI and we are excited to back this team and mission."

Founder and CEO Brent Frei, said, "This is something I’ve personally dealt with my entire life. There are more than 400 million arable acres worldwide that have been waiting for a cost-effective and productive solution to this problem. Repetitive tasks like this are optimal targets for automation, and the technologies we are bringing to the field dramatically reduce the labor and time needed to prep fields for planting."

The round, which brought the total funding to $38 million, was backed by the Madrona Venture Group.

TerraClear’s product roadmap includes integrating AI and computer vision with a fully autonomous rock picker platform, creating a Roomba for rock, notes the announcement.

The company, as of now, has plans to use the new funds to scale production and sales in 2022. The agriculture tech firm also intends to grow its team in Idaho and Washington.