(Sharecast News) - Seed Innovations announced on Friday that it has invested £300,000 in Fieldwork Robotics, a UK agricultural robotics company developing autonomous harvesting technology for soft-fruit growers.

The AIM-traded investment company said the subscription formed part of a £2.5m Seed+ fundraising by Fieldwork and gave Seed an equity interest of about 3.66%.

Fieldwork is moving from technology validation to commercial trials, with its robotic harvesting platform initially focused on raspberries and designed to help growers address labour shortages and reduce fruit waste.

Seed non-executive chair Jim Mellon said Fieldwork "epitomises how AI and robots can solve a very real-life problem", noting that up to 30% of soft fruit is lost due to picker shortages.

Fieldwork chief executive David Fulton said the fundraising would help accelerate farm adoption, expand commercial trials and support international expansion.

At 1055 BST, shares in Seed Innovations were up 2.54% at 3.03p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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