Autonomous mower software company gets Bobcat Co. investment

Atlanta-based Greenzie, the autonomous software company for commercial lawn mowers and outdoor power equipment, closed an $8 million corporate strategic round – its largest equity raise yet – led by Atlanta Ventures and including a strategic investment by Bobcat Company.

With labor shortages continuing to challenge the landscaping and grounds maintenance industry, automated solutions can help boost efficiency and productivity. Greenzie’s Robotic Ready program gives manufacturers the ability to upfit mowers with soon-to-be industry-standard autonomous mowing functionality.

“We are thrilled to close our largest round yet and include strategic investments by a strong partner like Bobcat,” said Charles Brian Quinn, Greenzie CEO and co-founder. “Atlanta Ventures invested again to lead this round and many existing investors, including myself, continue to believe in what the tremendous team at Greenzie is capable of.”

Software-driven solution

Because Greenzie focuses exclusively on software, the business model is less capital intensive than other competitors. The additional $8 million in capital will allow Greenzie to grow its first-class engineering team and to add additional manufacturers to the Robotic Ready program, as well as continue to grow its fleet of robotic workers already deployed with customers in the field.

“Greenzie has tremendous growth ahead and the noble mission of freeing humans from repetitive outdoor labor,” said David Cummings, founder and partner, Atlanta Ventures. “Atlanta Ventures is excited to lead Greenzie’s strategic round and to continue to back this promising technology startup as it grows.”

Partnering with OEMs

Greenzie partners with manufacturers, working alongside them to incorporate the autonomous mowing software onto their established mowing platforms. Greenzie does not compete to sell its own hardware or physical mower. The strategic investment by Bobcat will help further boost these relationships across the industry. In the future, Greenzie’s autonomous software could also be applied to adjacent industries such as a construction and mining.

“Innovation is part of the Bobcat DNA. We invented the compact equipment industry more than 60 years ago, and we continue to reimagine the future of the industry today,” said Joel Honeyman, vice president of Global Innovation for Bobcat Company. “Through this investment with Greenzie, we can accelerate our development of operated-assisted and automated solutions to help our customers be more productive on the jobsite or their backyard.”

Mowing is one of the most autonomous-ready applications with low-speed, off-road and geo-fenced usage, giving landscapers full-day labor productivity gains and efficiency increases over manual mowing. Autonomous mowing can also fill existing labor gaps at one-fifth the cost of a full-time employee.

Wright Manufacturing and Mean Green Mowers are inaugural members of Robotic Ready with other OEMs coming online this year.

The collaboration supports Bobcat’s introduction of its new autonomous, zero-turn mower, which offers game-changing efficiency and productivity by completing repetitive mowing tasks without the need for an onboard operator. 

Designed to operate with software developed by Greenzie, the Bobcat autonomous mower has a ride-and-repeat feature, where operators can plot a course and mark areas for the mower to avoid during autonomous operations. Able to detect objects, known or unknown, the zero-turn mower travels its prescribed path while the operator can take on other tasks and maximize their jobsite efficiency. The machine utilizes mapping to execute an exact route that can be repeated; all of which can be managed or edited on a simple smartphone app. 

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Through this investment, Bobcat and Greenzie will join forces to accelerate Bobcat’s development of the autonomous capabilities and solutions across its product lineup.

The autonomous mower will make its North American debut at Equip Exposition in Louisville. Demos will be held in Bobcat’s outdoor booth, 7506D.

The mower will have a limited launch in late 2023 with more details forthcoming.

OPE Business top story for outdoor power equipment

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