Trabotyx is providing farmers with a reliable automated weeding solution. Since graduating from the European Space Agency’s business incubation programme (ESA BIC Noordwijk) in 2022, the team’s focus has been to perfect its inaugural commercial weeding robot, which was successfully launched this summer. After listening to market feedback, the startup pivoted to incorporate a new type of weeding system. In this interview, co-founder Tim Kreukniet shares more about his journey and how laser technology and artificial intelligence (AI) have taken Trabotyx’ weeding robot to the next level.
Trabotyx founders Tim Kreukniet (CEO) and Mohamed Boussama (CTO) met at the Antler accelerator early in 2020 and, by the end of that year, had started incubation at ESA BIC Noordwijk. In only a matter of months, the startup managed to complete a successful investment round raising €460,000 and, the following year, graduated from ESA BIC with the first prototype. Since then, both Tim and Mohamed have continued their efforts to adjust and fine-tune their solution to ideally match farmers’ needs.
During incubation, the startup’s prototype (mechanical) weeding robot – with a design inspired by Mars rovers – used satellite data for optimal performance and accurate positioning. Things have moved on in the years since and Trabotyx’ inaugural commercial product has done away with weeding using kinetic blades and now opts for laser tech. As outlined in the Future Farming launch report, the robot’s weeding system uses laser beams that do not disturb the soil and can work very close to the crop without causing crop damage. Blue diode light is used because chlorophyll in plant tissue strongly absorbs it, enabling precise cellular damage with lower optical power – this makes it an efficient and environmentally friendly method of weed control (read more about the process here).
After some years of collaborating with customers and improving their technology, the team members reached a milestone this summer with the launch of the Tor precision laser weeder. The new machine – the first of its type available in the Netherlands – can remove five weeds per second. It comes in three sizes and allows predictable weed management across all field layouts. Operating currently by remote control, the autonomous machine will soon navigate using GPS with RTK (real-time kinetic) for accurate positioning. By providing farmers with a chemical-free weeding solution, Trabotyx aims to help improve the profitability of farmers while simultaneously increasing biodiversity and restoring soil. We caught up with Tim to hear about his journey.
What brought Trabotyx to ESA BIC Noordwijk?
We came to ESA BIC because we use some cool space technology, like Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to determine the robots’ location, and during our incubation we were also working on the robotic platform. That’s what motivated us.
Another thing was that the Antler accelerator, where I met my co-founder in early 2020, is very commercially driven. We were looking for a place with other deep-tech kindred spirits to bounce ideas off and to learn from each other. The ESA BIC programme, which we joined in December 2020, was perfect for that. A lot of the startups there work on difficult technology with a long time to market. It was nice to talk to startups that also have their challenges on the engineering side.
What was the focus of your time during the incubation?
We dedicated a lot of our time at ESA BIC to the robot platform, motion control and autonomy of the platform. It was around the time that ESA’s planned Rosalind Franklin Mars rover was getting a lot of attention (see mission update here), so it was also about traction control. Some of the rover’s technology we could utilise in our robot platform in the field. Then, more toward the end of incubation in the ESA BIC programme, we pivoted to really focusing on weeding and weeding automation. That’s what happens at the start: You listen to customers, you figure out the real pain points and then you double down on those things.
What were your biggest learnings from the incubation?
For me, the big learning was that difficult things take a long time. If I look at our first financial models, by now we should have had 200 robots in the field. In reality, it’s only now that we have the first commercially viable product. It takes a long time to plan and prioritise. During the participation in the incubator, we gained a lot of soft skills, like presenting our product, rather hard science skills. Part of this was also because we are not selling into or building something for the space sector, so we didn’t have to dive into that area as much.
What was the most valuable advice you got at ESA BIC?
I think that people love to work with startups because they have cool and fresh ideas, they do outrageous stuff. At the same time, one of our coaches was really within the ESA ecosystem and there you see that they also have their own processes and workflows. In our conversations with this coach, I learned more about how things work with ESA and how the processes of such a big international organisation can be very different than with startups. If you want to sell things into the space industry, you really have to understand the natural cadence of how things are going there to be effective in bringing your project forward. It’s time consuming and you have to be patient. You have to understand that, while your idea is cool and probably has merit and an impact, in the grand scheme of things, it’s still nothing yet. So, you have to figure out how to make it important enough for the person at the other side of the table. I think that’s a skill a lot of people need to develop in general, but especially founders.
“We pivoted during ESA BIC incubation, which can happen at the start – you listen to customers, you figure out the real pain points and then you double down on these those things”
TIM kreukniet, trabotyx CEO
What have you focused on since graduating from ESA BIC Noordwijk?
In short, we’ve been busy making an autonomous weeding machine that provides value for farmers and that we are able to sell. The position we are at right at this moment is that we have a working weeding machine – and we have great customer traction. When we look at improving our robot further, the platform and autonomy questions we were working on initially during our time at ESA BIC are coming back. Can we still do some of those things that we were originally working on now with this different version of our robot? We are trying to find ways to re-implement the things we worked on before.
What are some challenges you have faced in this time?
A big thing to always keep in mind for a farming machine is not whether it works right now but whether it works for 3–5 years of operation in the field, come rain or sunshine. How do you make it robust enough, so the farmer is willing to invest €250,000 for a machine that’s been built by a company with a limited track record? That’s a big thing. We were also recently part of an appeal for a government guarantee to support companies like ours. In this appeal, we ask that the government should guarantee that if the robot doesn’t work, the farmers can send it back minus the depreciation, in place of regular subsidies. I believe that it would make it easier for farmers to say yes to a sale if they had some financial certainty and it would help the agricultural robot industry in general to get going.
Product specifications: Tor is the first commercial Dutch laser weeder. It uses blue diode laser light to effectively remove weeds ranging between 2 and 20 mm in size. Available in three different working widths (1.5, 1.8 and 3 m), the product is applicable to different field layouts. Each laser can target up to five weeds per second, with the widest version (with six lasers) offering a capacity of up to 0.15 ha/h. A swappable battery and a solar panel provide the necessary energy, with the battery lasting up to 10 hours of weeding – day and night if needed. Read launch report
Do the farmers have concerns with investing in such tech?
It’s not necessarily the money, but the uncertainty if something is going to work for several years. Will the robot still do what it’s supposed to do? And in these years, innovation is still going fast. So, if the farmer doesn’t have to buy now, it pays to wait because the machines are going to get better. However, if everybody’s waiting, then all these agricultural robot companies will go bankrupt. It’s this chicken and egg situation that I hope to address with this guarantee from the government.
Can you share a recent highlights or key moments for your startup?
The biggest thing is that we made a switch from a mechanical robot to a laser robot, the Tor precision laser weeder. That has helped us a lot in commercial traction, in farmers willing to buy and it also just weeds better. We started working on this new version over 18 months ago and we had a successful launch in June 2025 at two different locations here in the Netherlands.
What crops can the new laser weeding robot be used for?
Our system is a computer-vision system camera that uses AI to determine whether something is a weed or a crop. Tor can do this for a selection of crops – such as carrots, onions, red beets, parsnips, lilies. However, we will likely increase this selection soon. Through the implementation of generative AI in our model training methods, we now use 70–80 per cent less data to get these models working. That’s really a big improvement. With only three data runs, we can have a functional model. This means that farmers can collaborate with us to add a new crop in just 3 weeks.
What does the future hold for Trabotyx?
With our recent launch of the Tor robot, it is a very exciting time for us. The focus for now is to sell five of our weeding machines this year in order to be ready for the next phase. What we are building is a machine that can eliminate all weeds for vegetable farmers and at the same time will also allow them to reduce cost so that their margins improve. We really want to help farmers and I think now, with the laser robot, we are doing just that. It’s hard to build, but cool to do.
Want to be part of Trabotyx’ journey? Interest for the new laser weeding robot is welcomed. Reach out to learn more.
ABOUT: Trabotyx builds automated robotic platforms for precision farming and sustainable weeding. The co-founders Tim Kreukniet (CEO) and Mohamed Boussama (CTO) aim to provide vegetable farmers with a solution that does not require herbicides or manual labour to remove weeds, resulting in lower costs and healthier soil. Since graduating from ESA BIC Noordwijk in 2022, the company has focused on perfecting the design of its inaugural and flagship product the robot’s design, resulting in the 2025 launch of the Tor precision laser weeder. trabotyx.com
