Yamaha Motor has invested $ 8 m in agtech start - up Robotics Plus , after initially investing $ 2 m in March . The funds will be used to help expand the New Zealand - based company into an international business , while helping Yamaha make agriculture more " sustainable , healthy , and secure " by tackling labour shortages , said Hiro Saijo , the CEO of robot Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley . Robotics labs launched a robotic seed packer named Aporo in May and is developing an autonomous agricultural robot , robotic kiwifruit harvester , robotic tractor and crop estimator .
Yamaha Motor has invested $8m in agtech start-up Robotics Plus, after initially investing $2m in March. The funds will be used to help expand the New Zealand-based company into an international business, while helping Yamaha make agriculture more "sustainable, healthy, and secure" by tackling labour shortages, said Hiro Saijo, the CEO of Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley. Robotics Plus launched a robotic apple packer called Aporo in May and is developing an autonomous agricultural vehicle, robotic kiwifruit harvester, robotic pollinator and crop estimator.