Photo from Kubota
Herbicide options are shrinking for growers, and the savings behind Kubota's weeding-robot bet rest on Kilter's own telemetry.
Kubota Corporation led a €6.5M pre-Series B round in Kilter AS, maker of the AX-1 weeding robot. Kubota announced the deal in February, alongside a plan to sell the machine through its own dealer networks in Germany and the Netherlands in 2026.
Key Facts
- Kubota led the €6.5M pre-Series B round, joined by existing shareholders Nufarm, SBG Invest AS, and Pymwymic.
- In 2026 through 16 August, Kilter's 54 AX-1 robots treated 4,265 ha, about 79 ha each.
- Against 250 L/ha broadcast spraying, Kilter says its robots avoided over 1 million litres of herbicide mix.
Kubota's release frames the deal around a shrinking set of viable herbicides. Resistant weeds are spreading, and weed control is getting harder for farmers in Europe and worldwide.
Kubota to sell the Kilter AX-1 in Germany and the Netherlands
Kubota will sell the AX-1 through its own dealer networks in both countries during 2026. Existing shareholders Nufarm, SBG Invest AS, and Pymwymic joined the round. Other participants go unnamed.
The release also does not disclose how much of the €6.5M came from Kubota or what stake Kubota now holds.
Kubota corporate development manager Miquel Albareda called Kilter "an outstanding solution to help farmers manage weeds."
The partners also plan to expand the pilot to additional crops, per the release.
How the AX-1 applies single herbicide droplets to weeds
The AX-1 is an autonomous robot that uses AI to identify weeds and applies single droplets of herbicide to them with 6×6 mm grid accuracy. Kilter told Future Farming that the robot logs every droplet it applies. Each is 1 µL, so a litre of herbicide mix holds 1 million of them.
Kubota's release says the system reduces herbicide use and prevents crop injury, and that it currently supports more than 15 crops. Kilter managing director Anders Brevik named root vegetables and leafy greens as the crops that benefit most.
Kilter reports its 54 robots treated 4,265 ha by 16 August
Fleet figures in Future Farming's 1 October interview come from Kilter itself. Per Kilter, 54 AX-1 robots operated across five countries in 2026. Together they treated 4,265 ha between 1 January and 16 August, an average of about 79 ha per robot.
The figures do not show when each robot entered service.
Kilter says the fleet avoided spraying more than 1 million litres of herbicide mix in under 8 months, measured against broadcast spraying at 250 L/ha. Multiplying 4,265 ha by 250 L/ha gives about 1.07 million litres for conventional spraying.
Brevik put the average herbicide reduction at 97%, so the two figures are consistent. Kilter also reported yield gains of 30% to 40% in its own trials, but the interview does not state the baseline.
Kubota distributes the AX-1 in Europe, and Croplands does so in Australia. The company is now planning to enter France and the UK together with Kubota, though the interview gives no dates.
More robots are scheduled for delivery this year and next.
