One of my favorite parts of my role in AgTech on the WG Innovation Team is seeing what’s possible when the right partners come together with a shared purpose: helping growers succeed. Innovation in agriculture doesn’t happen in isolation, and it certainly doesn’t help anyone if solutions stay stuck on the shelf. What truly makes the difference is the ability to move quickly, act collaboratively, and build on the trust that already exists between growers and industry partners.

That’s why partnerships with people like Jason Mellow and the team at Axis Ag have been so impactful. In AgTech, speed matters, but only when it’s paired with credibility and a deep understanding of grower realities. Axis Ag embodies that balance. They have established trust with growers by listening first, showing up consistently, and following through. When they introduce something new, growers pay attention, because it comes from a place of partnership rather than salesmanship.

A recent experience around Diamondback moth management really brought this home for me. As many California brassica growers are already struggling with Diamondback moth pressure, growers are looking for better tools, better coverage, and smarter ways to use registered chemistries, especially when resistance and application efficiency are top-of-mind concerns.

I picked up the phone and called Jason to brainstorm. There was no long proposal process or extended back-and-forth. Instead, we had a straightforward conversation focused on one question: How can we practically help growers evaluate a potential solution in real field conditions, as fast as possible?

Within five days—five—Jason and Axis Ag had an “On Target” electrostatic spraying system mounted on a tractor and headed to a grower’s field. Not a demo plot tucked away somewhere, but a real commercial field, working alongside a grower who wanted to see for himself whether this technology could fit into his operation.

The initial trial was done with water, intentionally. The goal wasn’t to make claims or push products; it was to understand coverage, drift potential, and overall performance under that grower’s specific conditions. Standing there in the field, watching the system operate, having open dialogue with the grower about what he was seeing and what questions he still had—that’s what meaningful evaluation looks like.

Because of that rapid, low-risk trial, the grower could confidently decide whether he wanted to move forward and try the On Target system with registered pesticides in his own brassica fields. No pressure. Just data, observation, and trust. That kind of approach empowers growers, rather than overwhelming them.

To me, this is what effective commercialization should look like. It’s not about pushing technology, it’s about pulling innovation into the field, guided by real needs and real timelines. Partners like Jason and Axis Ag understand that growers don’t have the luxury of waiting multiple seasons to see if something might work. When a pest like Diamondback moth shows up, solutions need to move just as fast.

This experience reinforced why I value commercialization partners who are agile, respected, and deeply connected to the growers they serve. The ability to mobilize quickly, get equipment in the field, and generate firsthand experience is invaluable. It shortens the gap between innovation and impact—and ultimately helps growers make informed decisions that protect their crops and their bottom line.

In AgTech, trust opens the door, speed gets you through it, and collaboration keeps you moving forward. When all three come together, real progress happens.

I put up a post a few weeks back with my thoughts on the state of play for ag and AgTech shows, including Tulare World Ag Expo and San Francisco World Agri-Tech. I wanted to revisit Tulare for one more post, this time about a podcast I recorded with Paul Mikesell, the Founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics (you can watch the podcast here). Paul and I have had a couple of recorded sessions. I have thoroughly enjoyed them. Paul is a great founder and has done a tremendous job of leading Carbon Robotics from day zero through to their status today as the leading laser weeding robot startup, and in many ways, the leading weeding robot startup for specialty crops.

One of the things that came out of the podcast was Paul sharing that Carbon Robotics had sales of over $100 million in 2025. This is a huge milestone for any startup, even more huge in a hardware category that involves extensive R&D efforts and a solid go-to market strategy with support and economics that work for growers. A lot of my followers and friends ask why Carbon Robotics gets so much attention from me. That answer is simple – they are the alpha dog of specialty crop automation software at the moment and likely for the next several moments. They deserve an outsized amount of attention from everyone in and around the automation space because of their results.

First, the ability to actually conjure up a laser weeder and then get it built, commercialized, and scaled with multiple models over several years is a great accomplishment. Second, their ability to fundraise in an increasingly challenging environment where VC has dropped 70% in five years has helped them continue to scale (they’ve raised well over $150M, including a $70M D round). In addition, Paul’s CEO track record (including a $2.5 billion exit to EMC in 2010 and another exit from Clustrix) helped him secure capital from non-AgriFoodTech investors, including Nvidia and BOND (and Nvidia has a board seat). These kinds of investments are great because they bring investment dollars from outside AgriFoodTech into the segment. It takes a CEO with that kind of track record to attract those kinds of dollars into the space.

Third, they have built the go-to market model to multiple continents and several companies. This is a huge lift in AgTech. They have also expanded from specialty crops with the G2 200, 400, and 600 models to Midwest crops with the 1200 and 1800 with their 2025 rollout at Tulare. They have developed a laser weeder add-on for the Farm-NG Amiga that was shown at Tulare. They have also developed Carbon ATK (Autonomous Tractor Kit) to support autonomous tractors. The combined product suite adds to the total addressable market Carbon Robotics can reach.

The $100 million revenue number for 2025 is a big milestone. I appreciate Paul being willing to share that number. To other automation startups, if you are growing revenue and are comfortable sharing the number, please reach out and help us dial in the revenue estimates for the segment. At the moment, Ben Palone and I are comfortable (based on the feedback we get from actual startups who are in market and commercializing) that a good estimate for 2025 automation sales for specialty crops was $310 million. This represents 20-25% growth over 2024. That is a solid growth rate for a space with multiple startups growing revenue. It also means we are on pace to become a $1 billion category by 2030, which creates significant complementary opportunities, including systems integration and data/analytics.

So those are two big numbers from an ecosystem perspective. We have overall revenue of $310 million at a solid growth rate. We also have a $100 million player poised to continue their growth. Selfishly, I would like to see the percentage of category revenue for Carbon Robotics shrink some because right now the category is a little reliant on one large player. But I am also fine with Carbon Robotics continuing an aggressive growth trajectory because there are mid-stage startups that are starting to grow revenue that will add to the overall category growth. I’ll have more to say about them in future articles. For now, the headlines are $310M and $100M+ and both are signs of a category that is solving real problems and working hard to scale to a $1B category the next five years.