According to Bloomberg, Alphabet has discontinued its Mineral robotic platform project, which started in 2020 under Project X and was spun off as a subsidiary within the Alphabet group in 2023.
Internal documents from Alphabet obtained by Bloomberg state that Mineral failed to find a suitable business model. Moreover, the agricultural robotics industry is highly competitive with low profit margins. As a result, Alphabet decided to sell Mineral’s technology to Driscoll’s, a berry growing company that has been testing the robotic system.
This information was confirmed by Driscoll’s, who interviewed with Bloomberg and mentioned that they used Mineral’s robots to analyze the productivity of each berry field to improve yield predictions. A representative from Driscoll’s expressed disappointment in Alphabet’s decision to cancel the project and indicated plans to continue utilizing Mineral’s technology.
Source: Bloomberg, The Verge
TLDR: Alphabet has halted its Mineral robotic platform project due to the lack of a viable business model and high competition in the agricultural robotics sector. The technology has been sold to Driscoll’s for further use in enhancing berry crop yields.
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