Prefiro GmbH

Prefiro GmbH develops robot- and AI-based selective harvesting systems for agriculture, beginning with green asparagus. The company, founded in 2024 and based in the Karlsruhe area, is a spin-out from the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT). Its first product is a selective harvesting solution for green asparagus, intended as an economically viable and practical alternative to manual harvesting. According to the company, it is the first solution of its kind worldwide, with commercial field deployment planned for the coming season.

The technical scope spans robotics, artificial intelligence, automation and agricultural engineering. Selective harvesting - identifying and picking individual spears rather than an entire pass of the crop - places demands on perception, decision-making and mechanical handling in unstructured outdoor conditions. The work is carried out by an interdisciplinary team of robotics, AI and agriculture specialists, developed in close cooperation with farmers so that the technology addresses problems as they arise in practice.

Prefiro's stated ambition extends beyond asparagus: making agriculture fit for the future through targeted automation. The company has been operating since early 2024 and is in a growth phase, recruiting ahead of the coming season. Its location at KIT keeps it close to research and university expertise.