DEPLOYDatabase

Robot model

LaserWeeder

agriculturecommercialby Carbon Robotics

Carbon Robotics (founded 2018, Seattle, Washington; founder and CEO Paul Mikesell) makes the commercial LaserWeeder, which combines computer vision with…

Track LaserWeeder
Manufacturer
Carbon Robotics
Form factor
agriculture
Maturity
commercial
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
4
Website
carbonrobotics.com ↗

The verified answer

As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies LaserWeeder, a agriculture by Carbon Robotics (commercial): 4 verified deployments on record. 6 sources back the record.

Overview

Carbon Robotics (founded 2018, Seattle, Washington; founder and CEO Paul Mikesell) makes the commercial LaserWeeder, which combines computer vision with high-power lasers to kill weeds without chemicals. By its own reporting the product has serviced more than 250,000 acres, eliminated over 15 billion weeds, and runs as 150-plus machines on 100-plus farms across roughly fourteen to fifteen countries; a modular, faster LaserWeeder G2 line launched in February 2025.

A load-bearing classification point: the LaserWeeder is a towed, pull-behind implement with no locomotion of its own, pulled through the field by a conventional tractor. Carbon's original 2021 LaserWeeder was a self-driving platform, but the company deliberately pivoted to a smart-implement format for faster payback.

Its separate Carbon AutoTractor kit, launched in April 2025, is the autonomy and mobility layer: a retrofit that adds remote-supervised driverless operation to John Deere 6R and 8R tractors, at an early and limited commercial release. On funding, Carbon's own Series D release puts total funding at $157 million (a $70 million Series D led by BOND in October 2024, after a $30 million Series C led by Sozo in 2023), with an additional roughly $20 million raised in October 2025 for a new undisclosed robot; an aggregator figure of about $276 million is not primary-verified and is not asserted here.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
commercial(Commercially deployed with revenue-generating operations.)
Sources on file
View all sources →

Key facts

Form factor

Towed, pull-behind implement with no locomotion of its own, pulled by a conventional tractor

Deployment

250,000+ acres serviced, 15B+ weeds eliminated, 150+ machines on 100+ farms across ~14-15 countries

Total funding

$157 million (per Carbon's Series D release)

Launch date

LaserWeeder G2 launched February 2025

Autonomy level

Remote-supervised driverless operation via separate Carbon AutoTractor kit (launched April 2025)

Specs

Notes

Verified (commercial): Carbon Robotics (founded 2018, Seattle WA; founder/CEO Paul Mikesell) ships the commercial LaserWeeder, which uses computer vision + high-power lasers to kill weeds. Deployment: 250,000+ acres serviced, 15B+ weeds eliminated, 150+ machines on 100+ farms across ~14-15 countries. LaserWeeder G2 (modular, faster) launched Feb 2025., Form-factor nuance (load-bearing): The LaserWeeder/G2 is a TOWED, pull-behind IMPLEMENT with no locomotion of its own (a tractor pulls it). Carbon's ORIGINAL 2021 LaserWeeder was a self-driving platform; the company deliberately pivoted to a 'smart implement' format for faster ROI. The separate Carbon AutoTractor (ATK, launched Apr 2025) is the autonomy/mobility layer: a retrofit kit for John Deere 6R/8R, remote-human-supervised, at early/limited commercial release., Verified-vs-claimed (funding): Total funding is $157M as stated in Carbon's own Series D release ($70M Series D led by BOND, Oct 2024; earlier Series C was $30M led by Sozo, 2023). An additional ~$20M was raised Oct 2025 (GeekWire) for a new undisclosed robot. The aggregator figure of ~$276M is NOT primary-verified and is not asserted. AutoTractor per-hour pricing ($15-25/hr) is trade-press-reported, not company-confirmed.

Products

LaserWeeder / LaserWeeder G2: high-power-laser + computer-vision weeding implement (towed behind a tractor). Carbon AutoTractor (ATK): retrofit autonomy kit for John Deere 6R/8R tractors (remote-supervised).

Implement

towed, pull-behind implement

Weight kg

309

Form Factor

agriculture (computer-vision laser-weeding implement, tractor-towed; + separate AutoTractor autonomy kit)

Autonomy level

remote-supervised driverless operation

Data & sources

Press releases

3

News coverage

2

Web sources

1

6 sources backing this record.View all →

Availability and pricing

Availability
Not sold (internal use)
Price
$1.4M (analyst estimate)as of 2022-02-07
Units in field
Not disclosed
Sales model
Not disclosed
Lead time
Not disclosed

Autonomy: verified vs claimed

What it actually does
Supervised (human oversight)

Accountability: Carbon Robotics has a Claim Integrity of 67% (2 of 3 public claims verified). See the industry ledger.

Pricing

One-time purchase

$1,400,000 USDanalyst estimateas of 2022-02-07

Source: Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder commercial launch Feb 7 2022 -- trade press reports unit price approximately $1.4M; first production run (30-laser configuration) sold out

Price status: actual-sale-price = real published price at time of sale; manufacturer-target = vendor target, not yet realized; analyst-estimate = third-party projection, not a vendor figure; not-announced = no price on record.

Prices verified as of Feb 7, 2022

Deployments (4)

  • LaserWeeder at Arvinoperational

    Grimmway Farms (Arvin, CA; Kern County) was among the first named customers in the commercial launch of the Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder in February 2022, when the first production run of 30-laser machines sold out…

  • LaserWeeder at Soledadoperational

    Braga Fresh Partners (Braga Ranch, Soledad, CA; Salinas Valley, Monterey County) was among the first named customers in the commercial launch of the Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder in February 2022, when the first…

  • LaserWeeder at Salinasoperational

    Triangle Farms (Salinas, CA; president and GM Josh Roberts) was among the first named customers in the commercial launch of the Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder in February 2022, when the first production run of 30-laser…

  • LaserWeeder at Watsonvilleoperational

    Carbon Robotics (Seattle, WA) commercially launched the 30-laser LaserWeeder in February 2022; the production run sold out with orders from growers across California, Washington, and beyond.

Free to use on your site, with a link back to DEPLOY.

LaserWeeder on the deployment map

View the global map

Where LaserWeeder is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

Free to use on your site, with a link back to DEPLOY.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Deployment-verified media (1)

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Carbon Robotics

Carbon Robotics' footage of its LaserWeeder G2 performing AI-vision laser weeding in-field. The LaserWeeder is a tractor-towed implement, not an autonomous vehicle: the tractor provides locomotion while computer vision targets and lasers weeds.

From deployment: Watsonville

Supply chain (1)

Compute / semiconductor

  • NVIDIANVIDIA Jetson Orin -- real-time AI weed classification and laser targetingsupplies

Suppliers appear here when verified with at least two strong sources (maker-official / IR / regulatory / standards-body / verified tier-2). Sources are append-only; corrections add new sources rather than rewrite history.

Safety record

No incidents on record for LaserWeeder.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (6)

  1. https://carbonrobotics.com/laserweeder
  2. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250210556114/en/
  3. https://www.therobotreport.com/carbon-robotics-introduces-new-carbon-autotractor-autonomy-kit/
  4. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241021330997/en/
  5. https://www.therobotreport.com/carbon-robotics-brings-in-70m-to-scale-laserweeder/
  6. https://www.geekwire.com/2025/carbon-robotics-raises-20m-as-laserweeder-maker-plans-secretive-new-ai-robot-for-farms/

Compare LaserWeeder

Common questions

What is LaserWeeder?
Carbon Robotics (founded 2018, Seattle, Washington; founder and CEO Paul Mikesell) makes the commercial LaserWeeder, which combines computer vision with high-power lasers to kill weeds without chemicals. By its own reporting the product has serviced more than 250,000 acres, eliminated over 15 billion weeds, and runs as 150-plus machines on 100-plus farms across roughly fourteen to fifteen countries; a modular, faster LaserWeeder G2 line launched in February 2025. A load-bearing classification point: the LaserWeeder is a towed, pull-behind implement with no locomotion of its own, pulled through the field by a conventional tractor. Carbon's original 2021 LaserWeeder was a self-driving platform, but the company deliberately pivoted to a smart-implement format for faster payback. Its separate Carbon AutoTractor kit, launched in April 2025, is the autonomy and mobility layer: a retrofit that adds remote-supervised driverless operation to John Deere 6R and 8R tractors, at an early and limited commercial release. On funding, Carbon's own Series D release puts total funding at $157 million (a $70 million Series D led by BOND in October 2024, after a $30 million Series C led by Sozo in 2023), with an additional roughly $20 million raised in October 2025 for a new undisclosed robot; an aggregator figure of about $276 million is not primary-verified and is not asserted here.
How much does LaserWeeder cost?
LaserWeeder is listed at $1,400,000 on the DEPLOY registry. This is an analyst estimate, not an official price.
Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder commercial launch Feb 7 2022 -- trade press reports unit price approximately $1.4M; first production run (30-laser configuration) sold out
Is LaserWeeder actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. LaserWeeder is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
Is LaserWeeder autonomous or teleoperated?
Yes. DEPLOY independently verifies LaserWeeder performing weed identification and laser elimination autonomously, with no human in the loop.
Who makes LaserWeeder?
LaserWeeder is made by Carbon Robotics, based in Seattle, Washington, USA, founded in 2018.
Where is LaserWeeder deployed?
4 verified deployments of LaserWeeder are on the DEPLOY registry, including at Arvin, Soledad, Salinas.
Can you buy LaserWeeder?
LaserWeeder is in commercial deployment and is sold to operators; contact the manufacturer to buy, and see the pricing section for any recorded price.
What are alternatives to LaserWeeder?
On the DEPLOY registry, comparable agriculture robots to LaserWeeder include VMS V310, John Deere autonomous tractor + See & Spray, MK-V, Solinftec Solix Ag Robotics.
How does LaserWeeder compare to VMS V310?
LaserWeeder and VMS V310 (DeLaval · 9 deployments) are both agriculture robots on the DEPLOY registry. LaserWeeder has 4 verified deployments on record. Compare both records for specs, safety, deployments, and verified-vs-claimed autonomy.
Is LaserWeeder a top agriculture?
On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, safety, adoption, media, and IP signals, LaserWeeder ranks in roughly the top 25% of agriculture models tracked by the registry.
What is LaserWeeder's maturity stage?
LaserWeeder is at the commercial stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Commercial stage means production-grade deployments are operating at named customer sites.
Is LaserWeeder safe?
LaserWeeder has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
How much does the Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder cost?
The LaserWeeder costs approximately $300,000 per unit (analyst estimate). A Western Growers study found a cost of $900 per acre. The system eliminates over 200,000 weeds per hour at an 80% cost savings compared to manual weeding. It covers 3.12 acres per hour and has eliminated 40+ billion weeds across 500,000+ acres.
Farm Progress: Carbon Robotics weeder study Carbon Robotics
Methodology: Verified · 6 sources (3 primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-16

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-16

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: commercial

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: agriculture

Sources by quality tier

3
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure
2
secondary-trade-publication
Trade publication
1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for LaserWeeder.

Recent coverage

LaserWeeder in third-party press

Founders on the frontiers of space and robotics show off their gadgets and tell the stories behind them - GeekWire

Jun 9, 2026

Seattle startup Carbon Robotics gets another shoutout from RFK Jr. for its weed-zapping robots - GeekWire

Feb 28, 2026

From Backyard Prototype to Global Ag Tech: Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder Revolution - AgNet West

Feb 24, 2026