Scythe Robotics debuts company’s first professional autonomous mower

Scythe Robotics designed its latest electric, fully autonomous commercial-grade mower for the landscaping industry completely in-house.

Scythe Robotics has released the company’s first professional-grade autonomous mower. (Photo: Scythe Robotics)

Scythe also announced $13.8 million in Series A funding led by Inspired Capital. Existing investors True Ventures, Zigg Capital, and Lemnos participating in the funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to $18.6M. Scythe said it will use the funds to grow existing operations in Texas, Florida and Colorado; expand with new customers and accelerate product development.

Scythe was founded in 2018 by Jack Morrison (CEO of the company), Isaac Roberts and Davis Foster.

“In full-service landscape management companies, mowing operations account for up to 40 percent of labor utilization,” said Fred Haskett, veteran landscape industry consultant with The Harvest Group and a Scythe advisor. He added that autonomous mowers can bridge critical labor shortages.

Scythe said its autonomous mower keeps crew productivity high while increasing the quality of cut and worker safety. The machine features eight HDR cameras and other sensors that enable it to operate safely in dynamic environments by identifying and responding to nearby humans, animals and other potential obstacles. The machine captures property and mower performance data that can improve landscape contractor workflows, identify upsell opportunities, schedule more efficiently and manage labor costs.

“Our autonomous mower gives (contractors) the ability to grow their business while staying green,” Morrison said. “It’s designed from the ground up to be more reliable, more productive and safer than any existing machine by incorporating state of the art autonomy with a rugged, all-electric design.”

Scythe says with its Robot as a Service (RaaS) model, contractors can bill customers by acres mowed.

Ivan Giraldo, co-founder and president of Austin-based Clean Scapes, said, “I have been actively looking for solutions that will support our frontline employees and increase the efficiency of our operations, and Scythe’s product will do just that. I’ve been open with employees about the opportunity autonomous mowers will bring: to get them off the mowers and onto higher value landscaping work, enabling us to take on many new contracts.”