TRIC Robotics has treated more than 1,500 acres of commercial California strawberries this year with a fleet of 15 diesel-powered autonomous robots, up from half-acre trials the startup ran in 2021.

Co-founder Adam Stager, PhD, disclosed the figures at the inaugural Ruggedize ag robotics conference at Reservoir Farms in Salinas. The service deploys UV-C light arrays and bug vacuums nightly in open-field strawberry rows to control fungal pathogens and pests, replacing chemical sprays.

"We're helping farmers control pests and disease using ultraviolet light and bug vacuums as a replacement for chemical pesticides," Stager said. "You can think of our company like a fleet of robots that we operate as a service to replace those chemicals."

How does the business model work?

TRIC operates a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) structure with no upfront capital outlay for farmers. The startup retains ownership of every unit and bills growers on a per-application, per-acre basis roughly comparable to what they already pay for custom spraying. That mirrors an existing line item in strawberry budgets, Stager said, where farms typically operate smaller tractors and rarely purchase million-dollar equipment outright.

The geographic density of California's strawberry industry — concentrated around Watsonville, Salinas, Santa Maria and Oxnard — makes a centrally managed fleet workable, Stager added. More dispersed crops, he noted, still favor outright equipment sales.

"Because we own all the assets, we were able to add that value right away to our customers and bring bug vacuums as our second solution, without the farmer having to buy a whole new robot," Stager said.

What sets TRIC apart from Saga Robotics?

Stager drew a sharp contrast with Saga Robotics, the Norway-based UV-C competitor active in U.S. vineyards. Saga's units are lighter, battery-powered and cover a single row. TRIC's machines weigh roughly 25,000 pounds, ride on six-foot-tall tires and span six or more rows to handle the larger blocks common in California berry production.

"For our farmers, it's really important to cover lots of acres," Stager said. "We've got very big machines."

Has independent research validated the results?

The California Strawberry Center ran a case study with TRIC without the company's involvement, Stager said. The center's finding: the bug vacuum alone covers the cost of both the vacuum and the UV-C light service. Results were strong enough that participating growers began running the machines three times a week rather than the standard twice-weekly spray schedule, he added.

"Plants are physically healthier. Their season lasts longer because they have healthier plants," Stager said. "There's also just the pure cost saving from not spraying chemicals."

What's next for the company?

TRIC is working with Andros Engineering to scale production after starting with golf-cart-sized prototypes Stager built in a garage. The startup has automated its boom system to keep UV-C dosing consistent across uneven terrain. Near-term attachments under consideration include furrow-flattening tools — a task some Oxnard growers perform weekly with a tractor — and strawberry-bed weeding, which Stager said could roughly double per-acre revenue.

Stager pegged the current strawberry-focused opportunity at "hundreds of millions of dollars" and a stackable, billion-dollar opportunity once additional capabilities ride on the same fleet. He identified parallel growth paths: expanding UV-C and vacuum service to new crops, layering more tasks onto existing robots, and following California berry customers into international markets.

The company was founded by Stager and Vishnu Somasundaram at the University of Delaware.