More Accessible Tech And The Ultimate Weed Wacker

This is a monthly column that runs down five interesting startup funding deals every month that may have flown under the radar. Check out last month’s entry here.

While the goblins and ghouls make their rounds this month, so have some pretty fascinating startups with funding news.

From startups trying to make sure tech is more usable for people with disabilities, to those looking to harness the power of the ocean, there was some eye-catching tech that raised cash this month.

More accessible tech

Technology and digital products are usually designed to make our life easier. However, it can be forgotten that not all people are the exact same, and some have to manage disabilities that make some products less accessible.

Toronto-based Fable has been partnering with companies like Meta and Microsoft to help make products more usable and accessible for people with disabilities. This month, the company raised a $25 million Series B led by Five Elms Capital to grow its ability to help make inclusive digital products with its accessibility testing and training solutions.

More specifically, the startup will use the cash infusion to make sure the hottest thing in tech — AI — also considers those with disabilities.

AI training datasets can exclude data representing people with disabilities, which can lead to undetected accessibility issues and bias. According to Fable, AI can discriminate against individuals who exhibit differences, impacting the 1.3 billion people worldwide with disabilities and the many more who will acquire disabilities over time.

Fable’s platform will look to expand its community of testers with disabilities to provide feedback, develop AI accessibility best practices, create inclusive datasets and even offer training for R&D teams on accessible AI.

AI holds a lot of promise — and that promise should be for everyone.

Weeds be gone

No one likes weeds — that’s especially true for farmers where weeds can cut into profit margins.

That’s where Carbon Robotics, a Seattle-based AI-powered farming startup, comes in. Carbon locked up a $70 million Series D led by new investor Bond. The company plans to use the money to fuel the growth of its LaserWeeder software and hardware product.

The company says its LaserWeeder combines computer vision, AI deep learning, robotics and lasers to identify and eliminate weeds using CO₂ lasers — with millimeter accuracy. The company claims the machines — which can be attached to tractors to ride up and down crop aisles — cut weed control costs by 80% while increasing crop yield and quality,

Carbon Robotics says its machines can zap about 5,000 weeds per minute and that growers in North America, Europe and Australia have eliminated more than 10 billion weeds across 100 crop types using its AI-powered tech.

The company also has not had a hard time interesting investors in its invention. Founded in 2018, Carbon has raised $157 million, per the company.

If AI can take over the world one day in the future, it surely can kill a few weeds now.

Power of water

Everyone is looking for more clean energy sources — especially with our new AI obsession.

CorPower Ocean secured approximately $35 million in a round led by Japan-backed venture capital firm NordicNinja VC to help commercialize power from an atypical source — ocean waves.

The Sweden-based startup has operations in Sweden, Norway, Portugal and Scotland, and is expanding to the U.S. West Coast to demonstrate its tech capabilities that address two major challenges of wave energy — storm survivability and efficient power generation in normal ocean conditions.

While wave power is more predictable than wind power, the industry has not yet been able to produce large-scale commercialization.

The new cash comes after the company demonstrated that its wave technology project in Portugal was able to operate during Atlantic storms with a large power generation capacity, so perhaps energy though ocean wave energy is becoming more likely.

CorPower has secured more than $100 million in funding, so investors apparently think so.

Recycle more

Everyone has faced the issue of what to do with an old laptop or broken phone.

Virginia-based Molg is looking to take on that e-waste problem and this month raised a $5.5 million seed round led by Closed Loop Partners with participation from the Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund among others.

The problem with e-waste is very real. In 2022, only 22.3% of e-waste was recycled, according to data from the UN Global E-waste Monitor, with more than $62 billion worth of critical minerals and precious metals also left unrecovered.

Molg says its robotic microfactory can autonomously disassemble complex electronic products like laptops and servers — keeping valuable components and materials in the supply chains and out of landfills. Molg even partners with electronics manufacturers to design products with reuse in mind.

With landfills filling up and the need for precious metals growing, taking advantage of what we already have makes sense.

Better safety through data

Everyone wants to be safer, especially in an emergency.

To help with that, Denver-based ForceMetrics raised $22 million led by Costanoa Ventures this month.

The startup’s platform gives responders answering 911 calls immediate access to crucial data to help them make informed, in-the-moment decisions that can prevent and resolve emergency situations.

The platform is able to surface signals in real-time search results that give first responders actionable insights into critical risks — such as mental health issues, dementia, drug use and domestic violence — allowing police officers, firefighters and others to assess potential safety risks and other needs.

ForceMetrics is currently being used by 30 police departments across 11 states.

Illustration: Dom Guzman