After failing to obtain more funding, Guardian Agriculture, a Startup Global based in Woburn, Massachusetts, that was creating huge drones for aerial spraying, recently closed.  After a round of layoffs earlier in the summer, the company shut down in late August 2025.

With its SC1, a completely autonomous quadcopter intended for crop spraying, Guardian Agriculture, which was founded in 2017, attracted interest from the agtech and robotics industries.  According to the business, the SC1 weighed about 600 lb (272.1 kg), could transport up to 200 lb (90.7 kg) of pesticides or fertilizer, and could cover 60 acres each hour.

One source said the drone was “about the size of a small SUV.” It had four 80-inch (203.2 cm) propellers, a 20-gal (75.7 L) tank, and an 18-foot (5.4 m) spray boom.

Guardian declared in April 2023 that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given the SC1 permission to fly its aircraft all throughout the country.  The SC1 became the first commercially approved electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) system in the United States, according to the manufacturer at the time.

Related: Germany’s Defence Startup Helsing Introduces ‘Europa,’ an Autonomous Combat Drone

Startup Global Guardian had trouble commercializing its technologies despite its technical ambitions.  A source with knowledge of the company claims that at the time of closure, there was only one paying client.  As of June 2025, eight SC1 units had been constructed by Guardian, according to MIT News, and were delivering payloads over California farmland in tests with paying clients.

Ashley Ferguson, the CEO of Guardian Agriculture, informed staff members of the shutdown in an internal email on August 22 that The Robot Report was able to obtain:

I must deliver the following news with the utmost grief.  We don’t have enough money on hand to pay benefits moving forward or to get people back to work next week.  We must also make the difficult decision to shut down the team and Guardian as of right now because we don’t have enough cash commitments from investors today for an advance to prolong folks.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t help our cash problem today. [We] are executing on liquidation and exploring $$ opps from insiders to go through the proper wind down (including potential acquirers).”

Fall Line Capital, which oversees the wind-down procedure, was contacted by the Robot Report but did not respond.  Over five funding rounds, Startup Global Guardian Agriculture raised $51.7 million, according to Crunchbase.  Among these was a $20 million Series A led by Fall Line Capital in the middle of 2023.

During its development, Guardian Agriculture’s SC1 received industry accolades.  The drone was one of The Robot Report’s top picks from the 2023 World Ag Expo and was listed as one of Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2024.

The Startup Global’s demise highlights the difficulties of growing agricultural robotics hardware, where even reputable firms are sometimes constrained by hefty R&D expenses, protracted adoption processes, and low early revenue.

In other headlines about agricultural robotics, 4AG Robotics just raised $29 million for robots that harvest mushrooms.  $5.5 million in seed funding was raised by TRIC Robotics, a company that specializes in autonomous pest and plant disease treatment.  Additionally, Beewise just concluded a $50 million Series D fundraising round for BeeHome, its AI-powered system that continuously evaluates and monitors the health of hives.

John Deere purchased Kingsburg, California-based GUSS Automation, a crop autonomy developer, late last month.  In 2022, the businesses formed a joint venture, and they are now extending that agreement.