ImpactAlpha, January 25 — Gas-powered equipment like lawn mowers and leaf blowers emit more than 240 million tons of pollutants each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Longmont, Colo.-based Scythe Robotics has raised $42 million for an autonomous, electric mower, the M.52, to help landscape contractors green their operations.
The mower’s battery can operate an entire day on a single charge; its sensors can identify surrounding objects, humans and animals. Scythe offers ‘pay-as-you-mow’ pricing to help landscape businesses finance the switch to electric equipment, which can cost three to four times more than gas-powered mowers.
The new investment will help Scythe meet demand from commercial landscape businesses, starting with Texas and Florida.
Demand and supply
Scythe has seen “overwhelming interest from commercial landscape contractors” since it launched the M.52 model in June 2021, said Scythe’s Jack Morrison.
“Commercial landscaping electrification represents a massive but undercapitalized decarbonization opportunity, tackling more than 240 million metric tons of CO2e emissions annually,” said Sameer Reddy of Energy Impact Partners, which led the Series B round. “With increasing regulatory pressures on emissions and air pollution, we see Scythe playing an instrumental role in decarbonizing our nation’s largest crop: grass.”
Other investors include ArcTern Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Amazon’s Alexa Fund, True Ventures and Inspired Capital. Scythe has raised $60.6 million to date.