Robotics startup eternal.ag secures EUR 8 million to make greenhouses fully automated
- German startup eternal.ag raises EUR 8 million to develop its autonomous robots for greenhouse harvesting.
- Eternal.ag's robots operate around the clock and are supported by AI to ensure harvesting consistency and quality.
- The investment will be used to accelerate the company's European expansion and extend the technology's capabilities to new crop types.
Eternal.ag, a startup building autonomous harvesting robots for greenhouses, today announced it has raised EUR 8 million in funding from Simon Capital, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures and Backbone Ventures. Eternal.ag is developing fully autonomous robots that perform greenhouse crop work without human operators.
Greenhouses are increasingly essential for securing the year-round supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, being far more resilient to seasonal weather, climate change, land shortages and pests than outdoor farming. However, greenhouse labor availability is falling rapidly - in Europe, by as much as 30% since 2010 - and forecasts say this trend will continue, leaving growers with structural staffing shortages.
By automating physically demanding harvesting work, eternal.ag's robots enable greenhouses to operate reliably and continuously, even when labor is unavailable or inconsistent. By 2040, the company envisions fully automated greenhouse operations powered by robotics, requiring no manual operations.
Eternal.ag's first commercial product to launch is Harvester, a fully autonomous harvesting robot designed for tomato greenhouses. Harvester operates up to 22 hours a day consistently and works as part of an intelligent AI-powered system to ensure quality of produce and cut. Built as a modular system, the platform is designed to expand over time with additional robotic functions to better serve broader greenhouse operations.
"Autonomous robots only work if they can handle real-world variability between plants, layouts, and daily operations," said Renji John, CEO and co-founder of eternal.ag. "We develop and validate our robots using simulation-first development. That allows us to train, test, and fail safely in virtual greenhouses - cutting iteration cycles from months to days. Once deployed, every robot action feeds data back into the system, which is designed to learn, improve and scale."
"Climate change, labor shortages, and rising demand are pushing food production to its limits," said Niklas Leske, Principal at Simon Capital. "Greenhouse horticulture is one of the most efficient and sustainable ways to grow fresh produce year-round. Yet, labor shortages put the industry at risk, and robotics is the only future-proof solution to build a decentralized, resilient food supply chain for the next generation. eternal.ag's experienced team has a deep understanding of what growers are up against and has developed a solution to tackle this in a sustainable and measured way."
Founded by Renji John and Sherry Kunjachan, eternal.ag has built a team of 26 employees so far, working across Europe and India, with headquarters in Cologne and offices in Bengaluru. The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand commercial deployments across Europe, and extend to additional crop types.
Media contact
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Samantha Dix at samantha.dix@eternal.ag.
About eternal.ag
Eternal.ag is a German agritech startup building fully autonomous harvesting robots for greenhouses. The startup eliminates the single biggest risk in greenhouse operations: labor uncertainty. Its robots handle the repetitive, physically demanding crop work with consistent precision, enabling growers to run predictable operations and deliver uniform harvest quality at scale. Founded in 2025 by Renji John and Sherry Kunjachan, eternal.ag has grown to a 26-person team with headquarters in Cologne and an office in Bengaluru. The company is backed by Simon Capital, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, Equity Pitcher and Backbone Ventures.
Learn more at eternal.ag.
About Simon Capital
Founded in 2018, Simon Capital is an early-stage VC fund based in Dusseldorf/Rhineland. The fund invests in driven founders who reshape their industries across consumption, wellbeing, and productivity. The fund is investing in the next generation of sustainable businesses that are defining how humans, society and the economy will consume, live and work in the future. Simon Capital makes use of its broad network and expertise rooted in an entrepreneurial heritage to lift new generations of sustainable businesses. The fund follows an active portfolio approach, where capital means more than just mere money. Investments so far include waterdrop, Just Spices, Infinite Roots, Holy, and Ordio. If you are interested in learning more about Simon Capital, please visit simoncapital.com and follow them on LinkedIn.
About Oyster Bay Venture Capital
Oyster Bay Venture Capital is a leading Food- & AgTech venture capital firm founded 2017 and based in Hamburg. The firm invests in early-stage startups transforming food, climate, and supply chains, combining entrepreneurial experience with Hanseatic clarity and a global perspective. Oyster Bay's first fund ranks among the top 10% of European venture capital funds, and its second fund manages more than EUR 100 million. The team invests in Seed to Series A companies across Europe, typically leading rounds with initial investments of EUR 1-5 million and substantial follow-on capital. Oyster Bay is backed by leading institutional investors including the European Investment Fund (EIF), KfW, and strategic partners across the food and agriculture sectors.
About EquityPitcher Ventures
EquityPitcher Ventures invests in Series Seed and Series A startups in the DACH region, headquartered in Zurich. The focus is on AI and DeepTech startups with the goal to become global category leaders. EquityPitcher Ventures has an extensive track record in robotics and infrastructure, a total of 40 investments to date and connects its portfolio with the most relevant business leaders in Switzerland and beyond. Additionally, they actively support in scaling sales organisations and operations. Learn more at equitypitcher.com.
About Backbone Ventures
Backbone Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Zurich and Frankfurt. The firm backs bold founders across Europe who are building transformative companies across sectors. With a strong founder-first ethos, Backbone Ventures provides capital and strategic guidance to support scalable, long-term growth. More information at backbone.vc.