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Swap Robotics entered our orbit last year, when the organization was a finalist in the 2022 Battlefield Competition. In a world full of robotic mowers, the startup caught the judges’ attention with its modular design that allows quick swapping of batteries. and practicality with attachments for things like snow plowing.
The company made waves by being more unique than most. Rather than going after every commercial or home lawn, Swap is focusing its efforts on solar farms — a growing market, to be sure.
“The solar market is an offshore market for us,” founder and CEO Tim Lichty told TechCrunch. “Starting with solar mowing, it solves a big problem for customers, because mowing the grass and plants is the biggest cost after building a utility-scale solar installation. Large solar sites are off limits to the public, which allows our 100% electric robots to run safely 24/7 and maximize acreage per month.” By the 2030s, the global solar market is expected to reach ten billion dollars a year.
While the company failed to walk away with the top prize, it held interest for bank investors. Today, SOLV Energy, a California-based solar provider, announced a $7 million seed round. The round features support from SOSV’s HAX division.
It’s a tough fundraising environment to be sure, but Lichty said the excitement over current sustainability efforts was enough to overcome those headwinds in an effort to grow the company’s seed.
Image Credits: Change robotics
He added, “As a climate tech-oriented company, scaling up in the current economic climate has been easy. “We have an IRA tailwind, an industry-leading product and an experienced team of 40 people. We are currently in talks with several of the top 50 solar asset owners for additional investment.
The company has started deploying the system to select farms in the southern US, with plans to expand to other parts of the country in 2023. International expansion is expected to begin next year. At the moment, only the solar market is given great attention to the growth of the company, especially due to the continuous shortage of manpower.
Switch payments through a subscription-based RaaS (robots-as-a-service) model based on multiple factors, including frequency and terrain. Lichty said the company has prepared a nine million dollar contract for the next three years.
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