Labour shortages
4AG says labour shortages are “crippling production capabilities,” with 24-hour harvests, four-metre climbs, and back-breaking work making it hard to keep staff.
Initiative
4AG Robotics
4AG Robotics retrofits working mushroom farms with autonomous harvesters that run around the clock.
Live on three continents
The initiative
Autonomy for working mushroom farms
4AG addresses labour shortages with autonomous harvesters that work around the clock, climb four-metre shelving, and help farms keep pace with demand.
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Purpose-built harvesters
Vision-guided robots clamp onto standard Dutch shelving and automate Agaricus mushroom picking without forcing farms to rebuild their infrastructure.
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Round-the-clock labour relief
Machines climb four-metre shelving, handle back-breaking stretches, and harvest 24/7 so labour shortages stop crippling production capacity.
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Data-rich autonomy
Each pass captures crop data that AI uses to decide what to thin, what to harvest, and when—raising yields beyond what human pickers can consistently achieve.
4AG at a glance
- Harvesting around the clock
- 24/7
- Shelving the robots climb
- 4 m
- Continents with live deployments
- 3
- Countries with active robots, per the July 29, 2025 Series B announcement
- 5
- Series B, announced July 29, 2025
- CAD $40M
- Mushrooms produced annually across North America, Europe, and Australia
- ~900K t
Deployments
Field looks like this
Real robots in real rooms—see the Sahara prototype, live rigs, and events across North America and Europe.
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01 / 05 Sahara harvester concept -
02 / 05 Autonomous harvester at work in mushroom shelving -
03 / 05 On stage at a TechBrew event -
04 / 05 Harvesting rig in production -
05 / 05 Traversing stacked beds in a grow room
Engagement model
Field cadence, not theory
4AG embeds with mushroom growers and their rack suppliers through three repeating phases. Each pass sharpens the autonomy, data, and service playbook needed to keep farms harvesting.
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Phase 1: Retrofit and roll
Robots attach directly to existing mushroom shelves, travel between rooms, and start harvesting immediately—no civil works required.
- Transportable rigs cover multiple grow rooms per farm.
- Bulk box packing today with a punnet robot in development.
- Standardized shelving from Canada to China keeps installs fast.
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Phase 2: Autonomy + AI loop
Vision systems thin poor mushrooms, pick only specimens that meet customer specs, and feed a vast amount of data back into decision models.
- Robots trim, pack, and stage mushrooms at the front of each room.
- AI determines which mushrooms to thin, which to harvest, and when.
- Goal: surpass top human pickers on yield and quality consistency.
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Phase 3: Global scale-out
Live on three continents, with a retrofit model designed to bring automation to standard mushroom-farm shelving.
- The July 29, 2025 Series B announcement said 4AG robots were active across five countries.
- Systems pick, trim, pack, and bring mushrooms to the front of each room.
- Standardized shelving supports expansion with minimal farm customization.
Why mushrooms need robots
Labour, infrastructure, and market pull
Everything on 4AG’s site points to a single conclusion: mushroom demand is soaring, labour is scarce, and standardized facilities let autonomy scale quickly.
Standardized infrastructure
Modern farms already use similar shelving and climate setups, letting robots retrofit “from Canada to China” with minimal custom engineering.
Market rollout plan
North America, Europe, and Australia produce ~900K tonnes of mushrooms annually, so they come first. Asia—especially China’s 70% share—follows once economics align.
Support stack
What partners receive
4AG combines mushroom-farming knowledge, robotics engineering, and institutional backing to support reliable farm deployments.
Mushroom-native culture
Teams proudly say “we are mushroom farmers” because every robot is tuned for yield, quality, and value on Agaricus beds.
Investor bench strength
Backed by Astanor Ventures, Cibus Capital, Voyager Capital, InBC, Emmertech, BDC Industrial Innovation Fund, Stray Dog Capital, Seraph Group, and private investors.
Category momentum
CAD $40M Series B (July 29, 2025) fuels manufacturing, service, and global rollout so more farms can automate faster.
Next step
Bring 4AG to your acreage
Run Agaricus houses in North America, Europe, or Australia and wrestling with labour? 4AG’s robots retrofit into your racks and keep production running. Learn more about active deployments and funding announcements at 4AG.ai.