Oishii acquires Tortuga AgTech to scale robotic strawberry harvesting
Acquisition includes award-winning technology and engineering team behind 2024 Ag Robot of the Year
U.S.-based vertical farming company Oishii, known for its high-end strawberries and tomatoes, has acquired the key intellectual property, assets, and engineering team of Tortuga AgTech, the Colorado startup behind one of the most advanced robotic harvest systems in agriculture.
Tortuga’s robots are designed for automated strawberry and berry picking, as well as plant data collection, trimming, and UV-C treatment. The company made headlines in 2024 when it won Future Farming’s Ag Robot of the Year Award, voted by both experts and the public.
Boost for automated harvesting at Oishii
The acquisition will enable Oishii to accelerate its in-house automation, combining Tortuga’s AI-driven robotics software and custom hardware with Oishii’s existing infrastructure—already in use at its Amatelas Farm, where around 50 robots handle ripeness detection and environmental data.
According to Oishii, the integration of Tortuga’s technology will help reduce harvest costs by up to 50%. The company aims to further scale its fully automated vertical farming model to meet rising demand for premium produce across the U.S.
Full engineering team joins forces
Tortuga’s full engineering team has joined Oishii, with both teams already working together to integrate the technology into commercial operations. While immediate focus is on vertical strawberry farming, future developments in automated crop handling are likely, though not yet publicly disclosed.
“Tortuga supercharges the strong engineering foundation Oishii has already built,” said Tortuga co-founder Eric Adamson. “It’s a promising future for the technology and for our shared vision of automated farming.”
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