German Startup Eternal.Ag Launches Fully Autonomous Harvesting Robot to Tackle Greenhouse Labor Shortage

Eternal.ag’s robots operate around the clock and are supported by AI to ensure harvesting consistency and quality

Cologne, GERMANY — Eternal.ag, a German agritech startup, announced the launch of its first commercial product, Harvester. Harvester is a fully autonomous harvesting robot designed for tomato greenhouses and offers a solution to widespread industry labor shortages.

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 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.”

Eternal.ag has raised €8 million in venture capital funding to support the development of Harvester and a number of new products, expand its commercial deployments across Europe, and extend to additional crop types. The funding comes from investors Simon Capital, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures and Backbone Ventures.

Wilco Schoonderbeek, former Director of Investments at the horticulture investor Horticoop, is a Board Observer for eternal.ag, contributing his expertise in horticulture investment and strategy. He said: “When labor is uncertain, everything else becomes uncertain. Greenhouse operations need resilience, not temporary fixes or pushing problems into the future. Automation solves the biggest bottleneck that growers are facing. The robot shows up where the work needs to happen and just does it. Growers finally have predictable operations.”

Founded in 2025 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.

About eternal.ag

Eternal.ag is a German agritech startup building fully autonomous harvesting robots for greenhouses. We eliminate the single biggest risk in greenhouse operations: labor uncertainty. Our 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 into 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 €100 million. The team invests in Seed to Series A companies across Europe, typically leading rounds with initial investments of €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: https://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 www.backbone.vc.