Root AI, a Somerville, Mass.-based startup developing the Virgo harvesting robot for indoor farms, was acquired by AppHarvest for $60 million. AppHarvest is investing approximately $10 million in cash and the remaining balance in AppHarvest common shares to acquire Root AI. Founded in 2018, Root AI's 19 full-time employees are expected to join AppHarvest's technology group. Root AI co-founder and CEO Josh Lessing will take on the role of CTO for AppHarvest. He will take the lead in continuing to develop the robots and AI capabilities for the network of indoor farms AppHarvest is building.

In recent months, the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted frangibility in the global supply networks; particularly those involved in food security. Hallmarks of digital transformation, automation, and artificial intelligence, are being tapped to create a decentralized 21st century food chain. On Thursday, the agricultural robotics and artificial intelligence company Root AI announced new capabilities to its AI-enhanced robotic harvester as well as investments totaling more than $7 million. Now that the AI-enhanced robotic harvester has demonstrated enhanced dexterity to tackle crops of various shapes and sizes, the technology could help shore up these vulnerabilities. In the past, Root AI has provided glimpses of its robo-harvester, known as Virgo, picking ripe tomatoes off the vine.

Root AI, a Somerville, Massachusetts-based AI-powered robotics company focused on innovating indoor farming, raised $2.3m in funding. First Round led the round with participation from Accomplice, Schematic Ventures, Liquid2 Ventures and Half Court Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to continue to advance its product and make it more broadly available next year. Led by Josh Lessing, Co-Founder & CEO, Root AI is building intelligent robots that will enable growers to construct smart farms featuring security and quality of food and no longer be limited by unpredictable climate or access to land. The company's artificial intelligence technology is a mobile robot for indoor farming facilities.

Artificial intelligence will soon be powering robots that will essentially replace farmers to pick vegetables. Thanks to the global warming, the increasing demand in agriculture, and the lack of ample land for farming, robotics is the solution seem by many to meet the demand of the exploding global population. An American startup, Root AI, is working towards the direction of making indoor farming the next big thing in agriculture where robots, and not humans, help produce and harvest the crop with maximum optimisation of resources. One of the first inventions coming from Root AI is a mobile robot for indoor farming facilities. Using the cameras and sensors on it, the robot is capable of picking tomatoes the right way and assess the health of the crops, conduct operations such as pruning vines, observing and controlling ripening to cultivate crops, TechCrunch reported.