About

The agricultural sector today is in crisis due to rising energy costs, climate change, labor shortages, an aging farming population and the European directive to reduce the use of chemical inputs by 50% by 2030. These factors create a compounded negative impact that will lead to abandoned farmlands, social disintegration of rural areas and a significant decrease in food production. The increase in cultivation costs due to energy prices and higher farmworker wages has significantly reduced the profit margins of crops, making it difficult for farmers to make a living solely from agricultural production. Additionally, the difficulty of acquiring and amortizing oversized machinery, particularly in orchards, creates the need for small, robotic, agile and autonomous machinery. The market for robotic agricultural systems in Europe is valued at €6.5 billion and is growing at an annual rate of 15%. It encompasses over 20 million hectares of cultivated land, including orchards and vineyards. A significant portion of the 160,000 tractor sales in the EU is expected to shift towards robots and robotic solutions will also attract customers who would not otherwise purchase tractors.

Solution & Product

Our robot reduces overall cultivation costs by up to 35% thanks to its autonomy. The ultra-low volume sprayer decreases the use of chemicals by up to 95% and spraying water by up to 90%, complying with the European directive without risking a reduction in food production. Additionally, it reduces the required annual labor hours of an orchard by up to 33%, addressing the shortage of farmworkers. It is equipped with machine learning technologies, artificial intelligence, image recognition, autonomous navigation, and hybrid power, giving it full precision agriculture capabilities. It features remote control and autonomous operation capabilities, allowing it to cover large areas with minimal human intervention.

Innovation & Scalability

Agrofelis aims to revolutionize agricultural production with its unique robot design and its innovative business model. The robots feature an ultra-low-volume sprayer that reduces fertilizer costs by up to 40%. Our robots multifunctional capabilities cover all aspects of orchard management, and our focus on reducing input and operational costs for high-value crops, such as orchards, provides us with a strong competitive advantage in the market. In addition, our robots are lighter than most competitive models, making them more user-friendly for sloped and narrow orchards, having the ability to be operated in an FPV mode or autonomously. Utilizing a hybrid business model of orchard and vineyard management services with recurring revenue streams, combined with direct sales, Agrofelis will effectively fill the huge gap in the agricultural market.

Traction & achievements

Starting in 2021, our company completed the requirement analysis and developed the core technologies for our product, successfully creating the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). We have been selected as members of the Greek Startup Ecosystem - Elevate Greece, completed the "Compass Cycle" business accelerator program by ACEin, ranked among the top ten in our category at the global Hackaday competition, and won the first place for innovation at the GRBossible “Think Big” festival. Additionally, we participated at the "Start For Future Summit 2024" and became members of the Start for Future Incubator. We have secured our first sale with the Department of Agricultural Engineering and AgriTech at the University of Thessaly. Upcoming activities include producing a video of autonomous spraying operations, exploring investment partnership proposals and forming partnerships with the University of Western Attica, agricultural cooperatives and large estate owners.

Team & Why Us

Our team combines complementary backgrounds and over 60 years of experience. Konstantinos Papageorgiou, with a bachelor in computer science and a master's degree in advanced computing, leads technology development, specializing in AI and Mechatronics. With over 25 years of experience as a senior programmer, he has developed multiple data-related frameworks, widely adopted across numerous European organizations. Hercules Metaxas, overseeing product management and system analysis, graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. Combining his expertise in farming with over 20 years of experience in investment consulting for renewable energy, real estate and agriculture projects, Hercules brings invaluable insight to our team. Anastasios Pliatsikas, holding a bachelor's degree in Statistics and a master's in Business Analytics from AUEB, excels in driving efficient data utilization and business planning. With three years' experience as a data scientist and a background in academia, including workshops and tutoring, Anastasios brings analytical and business expertise to our team. Vaios Panagiotou, holding a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in automotive product engineering, is an accomplished mechanical engineer with over 20 years of experience. He has led engineering projects, including prototype development for recycling machines in Greece and the design of 10 ton animatronic robots in Beijing.

Funding Needs

We are currently self-funded but are seeking external funds to finalize the development of our robotic prototypes and produce an initial fleet of 10 units, which will be deployed in olive and orange orchards in the Peloponnese region. These robots will provide comprehensive orchard management services. Market research indicates that the recurring revenue generated by this fleet will support further expansion. The allocation of funds will be as follows: 36% for prototype development, 43% for manufacturing, 16% for operational costs, and 5% for overhead expenses.