Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) announced on Wednesday it has made investments in two companies leveraging proprietary technologies to improve farming, Greenfield Robots and Nitricity, through its $50 million Cultivate Next venture fund.
Greenfield Robotics provides regenerative agriculture solutions without chemicals through its fleet of autonomous robots.
Chipotle's investment will support expanding the capabilities of the robots to include micro-spraying, cover crop planting and soil testing.
"We will help Greenfield Robotics scale their robotic offerings and explore how their robots can be deployed on farms within our supply chain,” Chipotle chief customer and technology officer Curt Garner said in a statement.
Nitricity uses air, water, and energy from “artificial lightning” to produce a cleaner, more sustainable, and cost-efficient fertilizer.
It will be supported to scale up its production of nitrogen used to create the artificial lightning, build its infrastructure, and launch its first commercial product in the next two years by the funding from Chipotle.
"Fertilizers have experienced steep price increases in recent years due to supply chain issues, fossil fuel price volatility, and rising distribution costs,” Chipotle chief financial and administration officer Jack Hartung said.
“Nitricity's fertilizer offering not only has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the fertilizer industry, but it can be a cost-effective solution for growers in our supply chain."
Chipotle shares traded 0.6% higher at US$2,334.80 in early trade on Wednesday.