Breakthrough Energy Ventures has led a $53 million Series C investment round in Iron Ox, a leading agricultural robot company.

Since retiring from Microsoft, Bill Gates has dedicated his time to a number of causes, including climate change. His Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a climate fund that encompasses a number of different organizations.

Breakthrough Energy’s latest investment is in Iron Ox, a company that launched autonomous farming in 2018.

Iron Ox, which launched autonomous farming in 2018, grows produce in proprietary greenhouses designed from the ground up to mitigate the environmental impacts of agriculture — a data-driven approach backed by plant science, robotics and artificial intelligence.

The closed-loop system optimizes plant yield, expands growth cycles and maximizes crop quality. The result is delicious, nutritious, locally sourced fruits and vegetables that currently cost about the same as produce from conventional farms, with substantially lower environmental impacts.

This round of $53 million brings total funding to $98 million.

“World-class investors know that humanity’s most important pursuit is to reverse climate change. To get there, we can’t settle for incrementally more sustainable crops — and we can’t ask consumers to compromise on taste, convenience or value,” said Iron Ox CEO and Co-Founder Brandon Alexander. “We are applying technology to minimize the amount of land, water and energy needed to nourish a growing population. The team at Iron Ox will not stop until we achieve our long-term mission of making the produce sector carbon negative.”