Small Robot Company

Small Robot Company was incorporated in July 2017 by Ben Scott-Robinson, Sam Watson Jones and Sarra Mander and worked from Salisbury, Wiltshire. It built the Tom, Dick, Harry and Wilma robots and sold a per-plant weed and crop-mapping service for cereal farmers, claiming herbicide savings of up to 90 per cent in trials. The business was funded by venture rounds and repeated equity crowdfunding campaigns that drew in many farmers as shareholders. In summer 2023 its lead investor withdrew, a replacement crowdfund fell short, and a signed term sheet did not complete before cash ran out. On 1 February 2024 shareholders resolved to wind the company up and Kroll were appointed liquidators to sell the technology and assets. The liquidation closed with a final meeting in January 2026 and the company was dissolved on 30 April 2026.

Kroll Advisory were appointed liquidators in February 2024 to sell the robots, software and intellectual property; the James Hutton Institute continued its robot research through the National Robotarium. Crowdfunding investors were not expected to recover their money. Final meeting January 2026; dissolved April 2026.

Agricultural robotics needed years of field seasons before revenue scaled, and investor appetite for that risk evaporated in 2023. Relying on a single lead investor and a crowd of small shareholders left no one able to bridge the gap when the term sheet stalled.