Sumitomo Corporation Enters Capital and Business Alliance with HarvestX, Developer of AI-Powered Automated Pollination Robots- Contributing to stable food supply through global automation solutions for controlled-environment agricultural facilities -

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Shingo Ueno) has entered into a capital and business alliance with HarvestX Inc. (Head Office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yuki Ichikawa; hereinafter "HarvestX"). HarvestX has developed the world's first robot capable of automatically pollinating strawberries and is advancing automated cultivation solutions for plant factories by leveraging AI and robotics.

In recent years, factors such as extreme heat and drought caused by climate change, along with a decline in the agricultural workforce, have made the establishment of stable food production systems a global challenge. Against this backdrop, indoor vertical farms capable of producing high-quality crops regardless of weather conditions are attracting increasing attention. In addition to enabling pesticide-free cultivation, these farms can significantly reduce water usage compared to open-field farming. Further, locating production closer to consumption areas helps shorten transportation distances and reduces CO₂ emissions.

HarvestX integrates AI and robotics to develop automated cultivation solutions for indoor vertical farms, including pollination and harvesting. The company's pollination robots use cameras and 3D image analysis to identify flowers requiring pollination and perform the process automatically. While bee pollination typically achieves around a 70% success rate, HarvestX's robots consistently exceed 90%, contributing to stable crop yields. The technology is currently being applied to strawberry cultivation and is expected to enable the stable, year-round supply of premium-quality strawberries meeting Japanese standards both domestically and overseas markets. Looking ahead, the company is also exploring applications for other pollination-dependent crops such as melons, kiwifruit and tomatoes.

Sumitomo Corporation has been working to realize sustainable food production that balances reduced environmental impact with stable supply, including through investments such as its stake in Ekonoke S.L., a Spain-based company that has developed indoor hop cultivation technology. The investment in HarvestX forms part of these ongoing efforts.
Sumitomo Corporation and HarvestX have already begun collaborating with a Malaysian company on plans to cultivate strawberries locally, and are exploring potential partnerships with a major airline, among other initiatives, to support overseas expansion. Going forward, the two companies will seek to expand their business both in Japan and internationally, centered on the provision of seedlings, equipment and automated systems, while also leveraging the extensive network the Sumitomo Corporation Group offers, including its offices located across the globe.

Under the Digital & AI Strategy (DAIS)—positioned as a core initiative of its Medium-term Management Plan—Sumitomo Corporation has identified the "Physical AI" domain, focused on implementing AI in the physical world, as a key investment area. HarvestX's image recognition technologies and high-precision robotic arm operations represent a leading example of Physical AI. Through such initiatives, Sumitomo Corporation will continue to address social challenges while creating business value, contributing to the establishment of a sustainable and stable food production system. In turn, this will support a strengthened agricultural sector more generally through the use of data.

Overview of HarvestX

Company Name	:	HarvestX, Inc.
Founded	:	2020
CEO	:	Yuki Ichikawa
Head office	:	Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Business	:	Development and sale of pollination and harvesting robots for plant factories
Website	:	https://harvestx.jp/en/

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