Xihelm

Xihelm was an agritech startup that developed autonomous robots to address labor shortages in agriculture. The company was founded in 2016 by James Kent and Angel Bueno Rodriguez. Kent, who previously worked at Google, aimed to use advanced technology to improve efficiency in the agricultural sector. The company's core technology utilized 3D artificial intelligence and computer vision to enable robots to see, identify, and harvest crops like vine tomatoes in large commercial greenhouses without causing damage.

The company operated on a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) business model, where growers were charged based on volume or area. This allowed clients to access the technology without a large upfront investment in equipment, with Xihelm managing installation, monitoring, and maintenance. This approach was designed to be more cost-effective and reliable than human labor, addressing issues of labor availability and cost. The robots could selectively harvest produce matching specific grower requirements and provided valuable data on crop yield and disease detection.

Xihelm attracted approximately $10 million in funding from investors including Oxford Capital, Passion Capital, and Entrepreneur First, as well as government grants. Despite developing functional technology deployed in commercial settings, the company eventually ceased operations. The intellectual property, including patents and AI training data sets, was later offered for sale.

Keywords: agritech, robotic harvesting, computer vision, artificial intelligence, greenhouse automation, Robots-as-a-Service, RaaS, agricultural robotics, crop management, automated harvesting, indoor farming, venture capital, precision agriculture, labor shortage solution, sustainable agriculture, food technology, supply chain tech, produce packing