About Root AI
Root AI is a company based in Somerville (United States) founded in 2018 by Ryan Knopf and Josh Lessing was acquired by AppHarvest in April 2021. Root AI has raised $10.2 million across 4 funding rounds from investors including AppHarvest, AgFunder and Accomplice. Root AI operates in a competitive market with competitors including Advanced Farm Technologies, Muddy Machines, Tevel Aerobotics Technologies, Robotics Plus and Four Growers, among others.
- Headquarter Somerville, United States
- Founders Ryan Knopf, Josh Lessing
- SectorsAgricultureIndustrial Goods & Manufacturing
- Email••••••••
- Website root-ai.com
- Social LinkedIn X
- Acquired by AppHarvest (Apr 2021)
- Total Equity Funding$10.2M (USD)
in 4 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$7.9M (USD), Seed
Aug 2020
- InvestorsAppHarvest
& 11 more
- Acquired byAppHarvest
(Apr 2021)
Funding Insights of Root AI
Root AI has successfully raised a total of $10.2M across 4 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Seed round of $7.9 million completed in August 2020. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $10.2M
- Total Rounds 4
- Last Round Seed — $7.9M
- First Round $2.3M
(Aug 2018)
- Investors Count 11
All 4 funding rounds of Root AI with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2020 | $7.9M | Seed | – | AgFunder, Outsiders Fund | |
| Apr 2020 | $788,909 | Grant | – | – | |
| Feb 2019 | $220,982 | Grant | – | – | |
| Aug 2018 | $2.3M | Seed | – | First Round Capital |
12 investors in total: 11 institutional and 1 angel.
Investors in Root AI
Root AI has secured backing from 12 investors, including venture fund, angel, and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include AppHarvest, AgFunder and Accomplice.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital fund focused on ag-tech and food-tech sectors | – | agfunder.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Accomplice is engaged in venture capital investments for startups. | – | accomplice.co | Boston, United States | |
Early-stage VC firm focused on disruptive industry founders. | – | outsidersfund.com | - | |
Seed and early-stage investments in US tech sectors are made. | – | pjc.vc | Boston, United States | |
US focused seed and early-stage VC firm | – | firstround.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Venture capital fund backed by the US Government | – | seedfund.nsf.gov | Alexandria, United States | |
Early-stage venture capital investments in industrial technology are made. | – | schematicventures.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Venture capital fund focused on seed-stage investment in multiple sectors | – | liquid2.vc | San Francisco, United States | |
HalfCourt Capital is focused on supporting AI technology founders. | – | halfcourt.vc | - | |
A government-backed foundation providing seed-stage investments to support small businesses. | 1950 | nsf.gov | Arlington, United States |
Investor details for Root AI
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
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People of Root AI
15 people are tracked at Root AI (6 in leadership, 7 in board & advisors, 2 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Ryan Knopf | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Josh Lessing | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Loren Eggleton | Chief Financial Officer | Leadership |
Gary Broadbent | Chief Legal Officer Chief Restructuring Officer And Corporate Secretary | Leadership |
Tim Robinson | Vice President Of Production | Leadership |
Geof Rochester | Chief Marketing Officer | Leadership |
Kiran Bhatraju | Director | Board & advisors |
J.D. Vance | Director | Board & advisors |
Dave Chen | Director | Board & advisors |
Greg Couch | Director | Board & advisors |
Kevin Willis | Chair | Board & advisors |
Martha Stewart | Director | Board & advisors |
Hollie P. Harris | Director | Board & advisors |
Dalton Brown | Packhouse Team Lead | Team |
James Langfels | IT Consultant | Team |
Complete people profiles for Root AI
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Root AI
4 dated milestones of Root AI across 3 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Root AI is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $2.3M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Seed, of $7.9M.
- Exit Acquired by AppHarvest.
Competitors of Root AI
Root AI operates in a dynamic and competitive business environment, facing competition from various established players and emerging companies in the market. The competitive landscape includes prominent companies such as Advanced Farm Technologies, Muddy Machines, Tevel Aerobotics Technologies, Robotics Plus and Four Growers, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| advanced.farm | 2017 | Davis, United States | $34.2M | 19 | Developer of automated strawberry harvesting robots | |
| muddymachines.com | 2020 | London, United Kingdom | $2.43M | 13 | AI-powered autonomous robots for crop fieldwork are developed. | |
| tevel-tech.com | 2016 | Gedera, Israel | $20M | – | AI-powered autonomous drones are developed for fruit harvesting. | |
| roboticsplus.co.nz | 2013 | Tauranga, New Zealand | $10M | – | Robotic machines for horticulture produce handling | |
| fourgrowers.com | 2014 | Pittsburgh, United States | $15.15M | – | Developer of robotic tomato harvesters | |
| dogtooth.tech | 2014 | Royston, United Kingdom | $10.09M | 46 | Robotic harvesters for soft fruits are manufactured and supplied. | |
| fieldworkrobotics.com | 2017 | United Kingdom | $2.36M | 14 | Developer of robotic solutions for harvesting | |
| harvestx.jp | 2020 | Bunkyo, Japan | $1.22M | – | Robotic pollination and harvesting solutions for strawberry farming are provided. |
Detailed competitors of Root AI
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
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Latest news on Root Ai
Complete news archive for Root AI
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
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Similar companies to Root AI
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Root AI (Crop Tech & Equipment), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provider of climate-smart deeptech solutions for renewable energy and sustainable agriculture | 2010 | Pune, Maharashtra, India | USD 76.38 M | USD 56.11 M | 702 | |
Cannabis products are provided to support consumer wellness and health. | 2013 | Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada | – | USD 204.24 M | 960 | |
Provider of plant-based food ingredients | 2012 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | USD 406.99 M | USD 470 M | – | |
Robotic equipment for automating weeding on vegetable farms is developed. | 2016 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 139.96 M | – | 73 | |
Provider of farmers networking platform | 2014 | San Carlos, California, United States | USD 983.39 M | – | – | |
Manufacturer and distributor of irrigation equipment | 1963 | Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India | – | USD 679.04 M | 12,280 | |
AgroStar is engaged in providing agricultural products and solutions. | 2013 | Pune, Maharashtra, India | USD 208.82 M | USD 31.86 M | 1,249 | |
Crop protection solutions and hybrid seeds are provided for farming. | 2000 | Basel, Basel-stadt, Switzerland | – | – | – | |
SaaS-based B2B solutions for food supply chains are provided. | 2015 | Gurugram, Haryana, India | USD 51.11 M | USD 124.42 M | 373 | |
DeHaat is recognized as an online marketplace for farmers. | 2012 | Patna, Bihar, India | USD 223.57 M | USD 240.09 M | 2,011 |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Root AI
Root AI was founded in 2018.
Root AI is headquartered in Somerville, United States. It is registered at Somerville, Massachusetts, United States.
Josh Lessing is the current CEO of Root AI. They have also founded this company.
Root AI is a funded company, having raised a total of $10.2M across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $2.3M, raised on Aug 2018.
Root AI was founded in 2018 in Somerville, United States, within the AI robotics sector focused on agriculture. AI-powered robots are provided for harvesting fruits in indoor farming environments. Ripe fruits are identified by an integrated vision system to enable damage-free picking. Paths to targets are planned using 3D vision sensors amid complex growing conditions. Operations center on enhancing efficiency in controlled agricultural settings.
Root AI's top competitors include Muddy Machines, Advanced Farm Technologies and Robotics Plus.
Root AI has 12 investors. Key investors include AppHarvest, AgFunder, Accomplice, Outsiders Fund, and PJC.
Yes. Root AI was acquired by AppHarvest in April 2021.