Toulouse – France
December 18, 2017
Two years after their last campaign, Naïo Technologies has raised 2 million euros from 4 investors: Capagro, Demeter Ventures, Oeneo and Pro Drones Investments. Sales are growing fast and the company from Toulouse aims to further increase its development. The new funds will finance the launch of export sales overseas as well as the industrialization of products and processes and aim to anchor the company’s position as a worldwide leader in agricultural robotics.
2015 – 2017: Managing exponential growth
Since Naïo Technologies raised 3 million euros in December 2015, the company has enjoyed tremendous growth, which was awarded the Pass French Tech for French start-ups that reach hyper growth. Turnover increased from 300,000 euros in 2015 to over 1.2 million euros this year and employees have doubled. Today, over a hundred robots are out in the field. The company has already improved its industrial and organizational processes and launched distribution in Europe.
The company now seeks to amplify the existing momentum. “Naïo Technologies was the first company in the world to market outdoor robots and is a true pioneer,” comments Gaëtan Séverac, Naïo’s co-founder. “But we can’t stop there, quite the opposite: one of our main challenges is to maintain our leader position, which means that we have to optimize our organization and conquer new markets,” adds Aymeric Barthes.
The new funds will allow the company to accomplish their goals: industrializing existing processes and products while simultaneously expanding overseas. Naïo Technologies will open an office in California and has just signed a distribution partnership in Japan.
Well-known investors from the sectors of agriculture and innovation
Two out of Naïo Technologies’ four investors have renewed their participation in the company: Capagro and Demeter Ventures.
“Two years ago, Capagro invested in Naïo Technologies for the first time and we’re proud to accompany the growth of this pioneering company again. We also welcome the two new investors, who are experts from the wine and drone sector,” states Bénédicte Monpert, Capagro board member. “This is a major step for Naïo Technologies and will allow the company to pursue their development and to accelerate the acquisition of new customers in France and abroad.”
For the CEO of Demeter Venture, Eric Marty, “Today, Naïo Technologies is a top-tier player in agricultural robotics. The founders gathered a team that combines two complementary skills: they master the latest technology in robotics and, more importantly, they really know the agricultural world and its needs thanks to direct contact and field work. We’re very pleased to participate in order to support the next step in their development and contribute to Naïo Technologies’ international growth and product expansion to high- potential markets, such as the wine-growing industry.”
OENEO and Pro Drone Investments are investing in Naïo for the first time.
“OENEO has an excellent reputation in detecting and developing innovative solutions and we wanted to support the environmentally friendly and groundbreaking approach of Naïo Technologies,” explains Nicolas Hériard Dubreuil, OENEO’s CEO. “This is an ambitious partnership for our group, which aims to offer the most innovative instruments to every player in the wine sector.”
Naïo’s unique position in the produce and wine market also coincides perfectly with Microdrones solutions.
“Today’s precision agriculture supplies useful and repeatable information to farmers by correlating measurements on ground level and combining them with aerial views,” adds Vivien Hériard Dubreuil, President of Pro Drones Investments and Microdrones. “Tomorrow, aerial vectors will gather the entire view while they’re connected to vectors on the ground that will supply a highly detailed view and take actions on the crop, when required. Naio is a major and established player in specialized agrobots, so it only seems natural that we’re interested in this beautiful project.”
About Capagro
Capagro SAS is an independent asset management company that is AMF-authorized by the French government. The company specializes in equity investments for agriculture, the agro-food industry, the valorization of biomass for energy or green chemistry purposes. Capagro SAS manages the Capagro Innovation Fund that weighs 124 M€ and is supported by 13 leading subscribers, all of which are committed to sustainable development and the agricultural world: AG2R LA MONDIALE, Agromousquetaires, BPI France, Crédit Agricole, Groupama, Agrica, Groupe Bel, ISAGRI, Groupe LSDH, InVivo, Sofiprotéol, Tereos, Terrena.
About Demeter Ventures
Demeter Ventures is an asset management company that focuses on the seed and venture capital activities of the Demeter group. It’s the leading European player in venture capital for ecological transition. They hold 800 M€ of assets under management, have funded 120 companies over the last 10 years and employ 33 specialists with complementary profiles. The EMERTEC 5 FPCI is the Naïo Technologies’ investment fund, which is dedicated to seed capital for companies with innovative technology. The fund weighs 50 M€ and was raised with the support of the FNA French National Seed Fund, which is managed by BPI France Investments.
About OENEO
OENEO is a major player in the wine-producing sector, thanks to its high-end innovative brands. The group is present worldwide and covers all the steps of the winemaking process. Oeneo has two main, complementary, divisions. The Wine-Growing Division provides high-end solutions for the wine and spirit making process to the main players in the field and develops innovative solutions for the wine sector. The Bottling Division manufactures and markets hi-tech corks with high added value.
About Pro Drones Investments
Pro Drones Investments LLC is an American investment fund that focuses on specialized unmanned systems and the associated data collection management. Their two main investments are: Microdrones, the leader of professional rotary-wing drones, which provides aerial mapping and inspection solutions and Delair, the leader in professional fixed-wing drones, which supplies decision-making tools and data to industries.
About Naïo Technologies
Created by robotics engineers Gaëtan Séverac and Aymeric Barthes in 2011, Naïo Technologies is an Agtech company based in Toulouse which designs, manufacturers and markets agricultural robotics solutions co-built with farmers and consumers. Being people- and environmentally-friendly, these weeding robots can, in particular, compensate for the lack of an agricultural workforce, reduce the drudgery linked with some agricultural tasks and limit the need for chemical inputs. To date, nearly 150 robots are in circulation worldwide, including Oz, designed for diversified market gardeners, Dino for weeding mound-grown vegetables and Ted, for wine growing.
