Rhinoceros beetles are one of the greatest threats to oil palm crops, attacking plants while they are young and potentially lowering a farm’s yield for years. They also affect workers’ health, since pesticides need to be sprayed frequently. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Poladrone wants to change the way farms use pesticides with a combination of drones and automation and analytics software.
The company announced today it has raised a $4.29 million seed round led by Wavemaker Partners, which it says is the largest seed round ever raised in Malaysia, based on data from Crunchbase. Other participants include the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), which is wholly-owned by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Malaysian government’s sovereign wealth fund; ZB Capital Limited; and angel investors.
Founded in 2016 by Cheong Jin Xi, Poladrone now operates in Malaysia and Thailand and plans to expand into Indonesia, the world’s …
