The brief
- LaserWeeders work on vegetable and specialty-crop farms in the US and abroad, replacing hand crews and herbicide.
- LaserWeeder G2 (Feb 2025) is modular, lighter and faster than the first version.
- Carbon ATK (formerly AutoTractor), launched 2025, makes tractors self-driving, with remote operators on standby.
Technical approach
Spotting every plant
Cameras photograph the ground; AI trained on millions of plant images tells crop from weed and finds each weed's growing tip.
Laser targeting
Aimed lasers fire for milliseconds at each weed's growing tip, burning it without disturbing soil or touching the crop.
On-board GPUs
NVIDIA chips on the machine do all the thinking at tractor speed; no internet connection needed in the field.
Self-driving kit with human backup
Carbon ATK steers the tractor and runs its tools; remote operators take over live when the system is unsure.
Carbon Robotics, two programs
Updated 1 Sep 2026
Research & demos
- Feb 2025
Modular redesign that weeds faster per acre.
- 2022
First commercial laser weeder at farm scale.
Open technical problems
- Speed for huge grain fieldsActive research
Lasers suit high-value vegetables; corn and soy fields need far more speed and a much lower cost per acre.
- Dense weeds and tiny weedsPartially solved
Very weedy fields and just-sprouted weeds slow targeting and make detection harder.
Company & funding
- Raised
- $120Mdisclosed private rounds
- Last round
- Extension2025
- HQ
- US
- Founded
- 2018
| Date | Round | Amount | Post-money | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Extension | $20M | — | — |
| Oct 2024 | Series D | $70M | — | — |
| Apr 2023 | Series C | $30M | — | — |
Partners & customers
- Supplier
GPUs for on-board perception
- Partner
Autonomy Ready program pairing implements with Carbon ATK
People
- Paul MikesellFounder & CEO