Ag-robotics holds tremendous promise for the green transformation of food systems by enhancing sustainability and productivity. Innovations such as robots with advanced sensors and AI enable the precise application of fertilizers and pesticides, while robotic weeders and laser systems minimize the need for herbicides, protecting biodiversity. Advanced robotic irrigation can cut water use by over 90%, and autonomous electric machines reduce carbon emissions. Autonomous machines can also be lighter, reducing soil compaction. Robotic systems support soil health through reduced tillage and enable data-driven, sustainable farm management. As labor shortages and sustainability demands intensify, ag robotics is poised to unlock a $100B+ market by 2035. However, despite these significant benefits, widespread adoption faces serious barriers, and the true potential will only be realized by understanding where automation truly creates value.

Investing in the Green Transformation of Agrifood: Five Years of Progress, and a Call to Action

Wait, hasn’t irrigation already been solved? After all, it was invented by Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, around 6000 BCE. They developed one of the earliest known irrigation systems using canals, dikes, and reservoirs to manage water from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, enabling large-scale agriculture in an otherwise arid region. This innovation played a crucial role in the growth of early civilizations. Still, there are massive investments in irrigation ahead of us, providing opportunities especially for private equity and infrastructure funds.

In January 2025, the AgreenaCarbon Project reached a significant milestone by becoming the first large-scale agricultural cropland project registered under Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) VM0042 methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management. This achievement marks a pivotal moment for the regenerative agriculture movement and the soil carbon sector, steering much-needed carbon finance to European farmers.

Read our report, Food is Investable, on why venture capital, private equity, and infrastructure funds should consider agrifood in their investment strategies. Despite the agrifood sector’s critical role in sustaining life and driving 12% of global GDP, it punches below its weight in capital allocation. In 2023, agrifood was only 2% of private equity’s total assets under management and received only 5.5% of global venture capital. From a climate perspective, it’s even more underinvested. Agrifood emits 26% of GHG emissions but attracts just 1.3% of climate-focused private capital. This is concerning, given the sector’s potential for massive impact and financial returns. Food Is Investable, developed with ADAM Partners, gives you a Treasure Map as an overview of relevant investment segments in agrifood across different asset classes.

When pioneering startups secure backing from seasoned, long-term investors with experience in crafting robust businesses, they have the potential to reshape entire value chains radically and become category leaders in a more sustainable industry. When those same investors build an investment approach that incorporates deep research and systems thinking, and invest in companies at multiple systemic leverage points, they have the potential to transform entire industries and even the global economy.