Verdant SharpShooter Precision Weeding & Application Robot

Verdant Robotics is a US company co-founded by CEO Gabe Sibley, an AI and robotics researcher, and Chief Product Officer Curtis Garner, who brings decades of farming experience. It makes precision application equipment for specialty crop growers, aiming to cut herbicide use and hand-weeding labour by treating each plant individually instead of spraying entire fields.

The SharpShooter, designed and built in the USA, uses Aim and Apply technology in three steps: vision and AI detect crops, weeds and targets, the system tracks each target and predicts its position, and aimable turrets deliver small shots only where needed. It handles weeding, thinning and targeted input application for organic, no-till and conventional systems, targets weeds from 2 mm to 24 inches and covers up to 7 acres per hour, day or night. Users include NeuHouse Farms, My T Acres and TopFlavor Farms, and a 2026 integration with Sabanto enables fully autonomous field work.

• Detect: vision and AI identify crops, weeds and other targets in real time.
• Track: the system follows each target and estimates its position at the moment of application.
• Aimable turrets: deliver small targeted shots of herbicide, fertiliser or other inputs.
• Wide target range: treats weeds from 2 mm to 24 inches at up to 7 acres per hour.
• Round-the-clock operation: runs day or night in most conditions with a lightweight, low-compaction design.
• Easy upkeep: quick-swap modules, power-wash-safe cleaning and over-the-air software updates.

Large vegetable farms in Lam Dong and the Mekong Delta can use SharpShooter for weeding and targeted fertilising in leafy greens. Sod and turf producers supplying golf courses and urban projects can cut herbicide use. Agricultural service companies can offer precision weeding to cooperatives as a contracted service.

Verdant states up to 99% herbicide savings and up to 85% lower manual labour costs, with ROI in 6 to 18 months for specialty growers. My T Acres reported a 75% labour cost reduction and 90% less chemical use on about 8,000 acres, and TopFlavor Farms saved US$500,000 in hand labour. An independent university trial found weed control equal to broadcast spraying.

Herbicide resistance, rising input prices and labour shortages are pushing specialty growers from broadcast spraying to plant-level application. In Vietnam and Southeast Asia, vegetable, sod and specialty crop producers face rising fertiliser costs and stricter residue requirements for export, creating demand for targeted application that reduces chemical volumes.

Co-founded by Gabe Sibley (CEO) and Curtis Garner (CPO); Frank Dellaert is Chief AI Officer. SharpShooter is designed and built in the USA and sold through a dealer program. Trial partners include Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Cornell AgriTech. Named to Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech 2026.