New edition includes nearly 25% more companies than in 2024; California is home to more than 40% of the U.S. companies represented
September 16, 2026 (Davis, CA) — The 2026 Crop Robotics Landscape, released today by The Mixing Bowl and the California AgTech Alliance, maps more than 400 companies worldwide developing robotic systems for food crop production. The number of companies represented has increased nearly 25% since the 2024 edition.
Developed by Chris Taylor and Michael Rose of The Mixing Bowl and funded by the California AgTech Alliance, the landscape organizes companies into 15 product and task segments across permanent crops, specialty field crops, row crops and indoor production. Applications range from autonomous tractors and scouting to precision spraying, physical weeding and robotic harvesting.
“The landscape shows a growing field of companies and substantial changes in who is represented,” said Chris Taylor, partner at The Mixing Bowl. “For growers, the practical question is how well these systems perform the tasks they need, at a cost and level of reliability that work on the farm.”
The findings show changes in the companies represented and their geographic distribution:
- More than 400 companies appear in the 2026 edition, compared with more than 330 in 2024 and more than 240 in 2022.
- Twenty percent of companies on the 2024 map do not appear in the 2026 edition, while 36% of companies on the 2026 map were not represented in 2024.
- Europe accounts for half of the companies represented, with Germany and the Netherlands each accounting for 10% of the global total.
- The United States accounts for 18% of the total, the largest share of any single country. More than 40% of those U.S. companies are based in California.
“Putting these companies together in one landscape shows the breadth of work underway in crop robotics,” said Michael Rose, partner at The Mixing Bowl and Better Food Ventures. “It lets growers, investors and researchers look across crops and applications, see where development is concentrated and understand how the field has changed since the previous edition.”
The authors identify labor and input availability and costs, along with changing growing conditions and practices, as drivers of demand for greater autonomy and precision. They also point to advances in artificial intelligence that are enabling more adaptable robotic systems.
Adoption continues to depend on task suitability, reliability, return on investment, fit with farm operations, training and grower trust.
“California has both the companies building these technologies and the farms that can help put them to the test,” said Sarah Masterson, director of the California AgTech Alliance. “We have an opportunity to bring that work closer together and make sure the people who will use these tools are part of the process from the start.”
The high-resolution landscape and executive summary are available free through The Mixing Bowl at https://www.mixingbowlhub.
The release accompanies a September 16 webinar presented by the California AgTech Alliance and The Mixing Bowl examining commercialization, on-farm adoption, investment and workforce readiness with representatives from Reservoir, Western Growers and the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency. A recording of the webinar is available online at https://drive.google.com/
About The Mixing Bowl
Founded in 2013, The Mixing Bowl connects innovators in food, agriculture and digital technology through research, advisory services, and industry convenings. Its Crop Robotics Landscape series has tracked the sector since 2022. Learn more at mixingbowlhub.com.
About the California AgTech Alliance
The California AgTech Alliance is a statewide network connecting California’s agricultural regions around shared priorities in innovation, workforce development and entrepreneurship. Anchored by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Alliance brings together universities, industry partners, workforce organizations, community-based groups, investors and regional leaders to help agricultural technology move from idea to field and from training to career opportunity. Learn more at calagtechalliance.org.
