Oishii, a vertical farming company that specializes in Japanese Omakase strawberries, has formed a capital and business alliance with Yaskawa Electric Corporation, a Japanese industrial robotics company, to provide Oishii plant factories with automation systems based on Yaskawa's solution concept, i3-Mechatronics, a software suite product for factory automation.

Under this partnership, Yaskawa will supply a range of robotic arms—along with other products and systems—to support Oishii's ongoing project of automating the entire process, from sowing and raising seedlings to harvesting, inspecting, boxing, and shipping. The collaboration will also increase Oishii’s ability to scale globally, with the introduction of advanced automation across all of Oishii’s farm facilities, and meet the substantial demand for their vertically farmed strawberries.

For Yaskawa, this partnership aligns with its new mid-term business plan, Realize 25, which focuses on intensifying the company's efforts to apply its expertise in factory automation to the agricultural and food sectors.

Analyst QuickTake: Oishii Farm was featured in our EDGE100 report, ranking 31st among the 100 most promising early-stage startups across various emerging industries that have the potential to reshape the future. This partnership with Yaskawa builds upon Oishii's recent developments, including the introduction of the Koyo Berry , a new strawberry variety, in February 2023 and the establishment of the largest and most technologically advanced farm within its network in May 2022.