Saga Robotics, maker of the autonomous farming platform Thorvald, has raised funds to expand operations in the UK and the US.
Oslo-based Saga Robotics, the company behind Thorvald, an autonomous platform for grapevine and strawberries, has raised $11.2M (nearly €9.59M) in equity capital to expand commercial operations in the UK and US.
The funding was completed in two tranches: $7.8M closed on 23 June 2025, allocated mainly to existing investors, and $3.4M closed on 8 July 2025, targeting new investors and strategic partners.
Dorn Wenninger, Board Chair of Saga Robotics, says, “Our solid commercial performance was an important enabler for us to close this funding round in what is a relatively demanding capital market.”
“The continued backing of existing shareholders who know the company well, along with the addition of new investors such as Praesidium Agri-FoodTech is testament to the solid foundations of our core business and our pipeline of growth.”
Investors supporting Saga Robotics
The funding round included new investor Luxembourg-based Praesidium Agri-FoodTech and existing investors Aker, Nysnø Climate Investments, Blystad, Hatteland, Melesio, Sanden, and MP Pensjon.
The company has also expanded its Board, with Laila Danielsen of Elliptic Labs joining as a member and Alice Laurora of Praesidium Agri-FoodTech joining as an observer, alongside existing members Dorn Wenninger (Chair), Atle Eide (Aker), and Yvonne Silden Langlo (Nysnø).
Alice Laurora says, “The Thorvald robot has moved from a prototype to a fully commercially deployed autonomous solution, already servicing thousands of acres in 2025. We’re investing in Saga Robotics because they have the right team, the right tech, proven technology, and a clear path to scale in high-value, underserved agricultural sectors.”
Robotic platform for farm operations
Saga Robotics, founded in 2016, developed Thorvald, a modular robotic platform for soft fruit and grapevine production. Thorvald originated in the robotics group at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences to address labour shortages, sustainability, and yield security in agriculture.
The company delivers autonomous services including UV-C disease control, precision data collection, and other repetitive, labour-intensive tasks in fields, greenhouses, tunnels, orchards, and vineyards.
Its mission is to transform farming into a service sector, aiming to improve profitability, reduce risk for growers, enhance environmental outcomes, and enable the production of affordable, healthy food through partnerships.
Pål Johan From, co-founder and General Manager US, mentions, “I passionately believe robotics can make an enormous positive difference to farmers. Technology is allowing an ever-growing number of jobs done on many farms to be easily transferred to robots, freeing up time and resources to focus on the jobs which require human involvement. And the results are backing us up, with customers saving significant amounts of labour time/cost and improving yields. And we are still only the early foothills of what we’ll see in the coming years!”
Saga Robotics operates from Norway, the UK (Lincoln and Kent), and the US, with a team of about 50 covering agriculture, engineering, science, sales, marketing, and finance.
Capital utilisation
Saga Robotics will expand the commercial rollout of Thorvald in the UK and the US. In the UK, Thorvald supports 13 strawberry growers and treats about 20 per cent of the national market, with a goal to exceed 30 per cent in 2026.
In 2025, the company recorded its first commercial revenue from a yield prediction data tool and plans to use the data collected from treating thousands of acres each week.
In the US, Thorvald operates across more than 1,300 acres of vineyards and plans to triple that area by 2026. The platform is included in California’s CORE incentive programme, which provides grants for robot sales. Over 150 Thorvald 3.0 units are in operation during the 2025 growing season.
Co-founder Pål Johan From, who relocated to California to lead US operations, says, “We’ve proven Thorvald works, now we’re scaling it. This raise gives us the runway to accelerate adoption, improve efficiency in agriculture, and reduce chemical use across two of the world’s most chemically dependent specialty crop markets.”
CEO Sacha de La Noë, adds, “When I joined Saga Robotics, the potential was clear, and this level of investor interest confirms it. With Pål driving expansion in the US and strong traction in the UK, we’re entering a new phase focused on scale and impact. We’re not just gaining ground, we’re accelerating.”
