Harvest CROO Demonstrates Commercial Viability
Harvest CROO team members observe the B8 Harvester autonomously navigate through rows in a strawberry field - as the AI and computer vision enabled robotics pick strawberries from underneath the chassis.
Press Release: “A Technological Wonder”: Harvest CROO Demonstrates Commercially Viable Automated Robotic Strawberry Harvesting
Duette, FL (April 24, 2025) As the Florida strawberry season concludes, Harvest CROO is pleased to announce that its automated harvest field trials have successfully demonstrated commercial viability. Having reached performance rates on par with human harvesting in a commercial picking operation, this achievement represents a major milestone for the company and the future of American agriculture.
Harvest CROO was initially founded to alleviate labor shortages. The machine in its current iteration has unlocked worlds of new possibilities by converging artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, innovative food safety technology, and advanced breeding techniques.
“We are at the cutting edge of a new AI agricultural revolution and this technology is ready to scale,” said Gary Wishnatzki, Co-Founder and Wish Farms Owner. “Strawberries are picked the same way they were over one-hundred years ago. Harvest CROO is primed to disrupt the multibillion-dollar U.S. strawberry market. The benefits are game changing for strawberries, but its transferability to other specialty crops as well as other industries is very promising.”
Processing power experienced a major leap forward in just the past year. With the use of the latest generation of NVIDIA chips, the platform’s vision processing capability is now a staggering 200x more powerful. This exponential jump, bundled with Harvest CROO’s thirteen patents, Artificial Intelligence, and advanced robotic technology has allowed them to attain harvesting on par with humans.
Farmers, investors, and others were on hand to witness a recent field trial. Among them was Jorge Heraud, the Co-Founder of Blue River Technology, and Past Vice President of Autonomy & Automation at John Deere: “This machine is a technological wonder. It is complex, yet productive and efficient. I was extremely impressed by the integration of different technologies. It is a shining example of where robotics in farming is headed.”
Besides providing surety of harvest with the lowest landed cost to growers, the platform has a host of other benefits that bring with it radically improved outcomes for the nation’s economy and food supply. Among other advantages, the machine employs deep data analytic elements that eliminate pathogens, increase yield, improve quality, and extend shelf life. This will ultimately make healthy produce more affordable and widely available to the public.
The machine and its technology are developed and manufactured in America. By onshoring this tech, the U.S. will benefit by having a self-sufficient labor force that will provide better, higher paying jobs at the farms. It will also greatly reduce growers’ dependence on guest workers, facilitating a food supply independent of foreign nations.
“We started as strawberry picking company, but now we have evolved into an AI machine learning and robotics driven technology company that will enable the transformation of industries far beyond agriculture. The market potential is virtually limitless,” said Harvest CROO Robotics CEO Joe McGee. “Our proprietary tech has already demonstrated its effectiveness by picking the most complicated crop in agriculture. Now, everything else will just be an engineering problem.”
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About Harvest CROO:
Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Harvest CROO is redefining the future of agriculture through advanced automation, intelligent robotics, and deeply integrated artificial intelligence (AI). Specializing in the specialty crop sector, the company has developed a fully autonomous strawberry harvester that combines AI-driven decision-making, computer vision, and precision robotics to identify, select, and harvest ripe fruit with exceptional efficiency.
This groundbreaking platform delivers detailed, plant-level analytics—giving growers access to real-time, data-driven insights that have historically been out of reach. By addressing the industry’s most pressing challenges—labor shortages, cost pressures, and the need for consistent quality—Harvest CROO offers a scalable, sustainable path forward for commercial agriculture.
With a strong focus on innovation, AI integration, and environmental responsibility, Harvest CROO is positioned to lead the automation wave in specialty crop farming and deliver lasting value for growers, partners, and investors.