Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory, the strategic business development and investment arm of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., announced it led the Series A funding round for Advanced Farm Technologies, a developer of robotic farming equipment that includes the T-6 robotic strawberry harvester. Leveraging the $100 million Yamaha Motor Exploratory Fund, the AFT investment reflects YMVSV’s focus on disruptive technological solutions that meet the challenges of the global food supply chain.
“Finding and supporting technology teams working to solve the challenges inherent in harvesting and delivering fresh food to the dynamic market of today and tomorrow is an area of investment interest for Yamaha Motor,” said George Kellerman, CEO and Managing Director of YMVSV.
The Series A funding round for AFT led by YMVSV raised a total of $7.5 million, with additional investments from Kubota Corporation, Catapult Ventures and Impact Venture Capital.
“We see tremendous potential in Advanced Farm Technologies’ robotic harvesting solution as a means of helping to meet the growing global market demand for fresh fruits and vegetables. We look forward to working closely with the team to support the expansion of their enterprise,” said Nolan Paul, Partner and Global AgTech Lead for YMVSV.
“We are excited and humbled to have Yamaha support our mission of building a diversified farm equipment company centered around automation,” said Marc Grossman, CEO of Advanced Farm Technologies. “With this investment, we can expand our lead in robotic strawberry harvesting and continue to innovate in other areas.”
For more information: 
Lisa Spicer
Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley
Email: lisa.spicer@specpr.com
www.ymvsv.com