SAIA Agrobotics raises €10M Series A to commercialise plant-to-robot greenhouse system
- ›SAIA Agrobotics closed a €10 million Series A led by Check24 with participation from the EIC Fund, Navus Ventures and Oost NL.
- ›The Wageningen University spin-off aims to commercialise a plant-to-robot greenhouse system next year after AUTOFARM development and prototyping.
- ›Company projects a 20 percent yield increase and a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse labour but independent validation and total cost of ownership remain open questions.
- ›SAIA has multiple international patents and early deployments with customer Growers United, but scaling, crop compatibility and integration risks persist.
SAIA Agrobotics closes €10M Series A to commercialise plant-to-robot greenhouse system
SAIA Agrobotics, a Dutch agri-technology spin-off from Wageningen University, announced on 10 November 2025 that it has completed a €10 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Check24 and includes participation from the EIC Fund together with existing investors Navus Ventures and Oost NL. The company says the financing raises its total funding to over €20 million and will support a market launch as early as next year for a greenhouse automation system it describes as a step towards a 'Food Factory of the Future'.
What SAIA builds and how it differs from conventional greenhouse automation
Funding details and investor positions
The Series A round led by Check24 adds €10 million to SAIA’s coffers. The EIC Fund participated as part of blended finance arrangements linked to the earlier EIC Accelerator AUTOFARM project. Existing backers Navus Ventures and regional investor Oost NL also joined. SAIA reports total capital raised now exceeds €20 million following earlier pre-seed and seed rounds.
| Stage | Lead investors | Amount reported |
| Pre-seed | SHIFT Invest, Innovation Industries, Oost NL | Not disclosed |
| Seed | Navus Ventures, Oost NL | Not disclosed |
| Series A (Nov 2025) | Check24 Impact, EIC Fund, Navus Ventures, Oost NL | €10,000,000 |
| Total to date | Various | Over €20,000,000 |
Development pathway and the AUTOFARM project
SAIA says it has produced the world’s first automated greenhouse where plants are transported to robots weekly for scanning and harvesting. The company reports multiple international patents across its technology stack after six years of development.
Claims, early deployments and what is verified
SAIA projects a 20 percent increase in yields and a 50 percent reduction in total greenhouse labour from its system. The company also cites a robotic harvesting accuracy of over 99 percent in statements attributed to investor Check24. Early commercial use has begun. SAIA says Growers United deployed first parts of the system earlier in 2025 and is using the technology on site.
Market context driving interest
Investors and SAIA point to long term market drivers such as a projected 30 to 50 percent increase in global demand for healthy and sustainably produced food over coming decades. Rabobank estimates demand for new high tech greenhouse construction at roughly 5,000 hectares per year. Dutch greenhouse horticulture is a global leader in efficient vegetable production and Wageningen is a prominent research and innovation hub for agri-food technologies.
Risks, open questions and adoption challenges
SAIA’s concept is technically novel but several practical and commercial challenges remain. The system's economics will depend on capital expenditure for plant handling infrastructure, integration with existing greenhouse layouts, the cost of robotic stations, maintenance and reliability, energy use, and software support. Crop by crop performance matters because biological variability affects scanning, manipulation and harvest quality. Widespread adoption will require robust independent trial results, clear total cost of ownership calculations and routes to retrofit or replace existing assets.
Implications for EU agri-tech innovation and next steps
EIC support and participation by the EIC Fund signal European institutional interest in scaling agrotechnology that can reduce labour intensity and increase resilience of food supply. SAIA’s next milestones to watch include independent trial publications, the scope of the market launch planned for next year, commercial pricing and performance across different crops and greenhouse types, and how the company manages scaling the manufacturing and service operations.
If validated at scale the plant-to-robot approach could change greenhouse operations by shifting complexity into standardised robotic stations and plant logistics. If the claims do not hold across diverse conditions then uptake will be constrained to specific crops or to growers willing to invest in new greenfield facilities.
Contacts and source material
This article is built from the SAIA Agrobotics press release dated 10 November 2025 and public statements by the company and investors. SAIA website and videos: www.saia.tech and www.saia.tech/#video. Press contact named in the release: Bas Froon CCO, b.froon@saia.tech. The EIC Accelerator AUTOFARM project and EIC Fund involvement were referenced in the company materials.
Note on framing: Investors and the company provided projected performance figures and accuracy claims. Those figures require independent verification through transparent field trial data to establish generalisability across crop types and greenhouse infrastructures.