On July 26, 2023, the McKinney-based Robin Autopilot, a provider of robotic and land mowing technology announced its partnership with Graze, Inc., a developer of fully autonomous electric lawn mowers from California. The two are joining forces for a test of the companies’ eco-friendly technologies at the DFW International Airport’s 14,000-acre grass field.
Robin Autopilot provides a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) business model to companies in the landscaping industry. A RaaS model is a subscriber-style service that gives clients access to software, marketing program, training and support. With this, Robin’s clients can offer environmentally friendly, cost-efficient and labor-saving solutions for residential and commercial landscapes.
Graze, Inc. is one of the leading equipment manufacturers included in Robin’s multi-manufacturer platform, alongside Husqvarna, ECHO, NexMow and Spider, providing robotic mowers designed for large-scale properties like golf courses, parks and airports.
The companies launched the initiative at the DFW Airport in June with promising results. “Graze and Husqvarna mowers tested extremely well in both effectiveness and efficiency for the project," said Logan Fahey, chairman of Robin Autopilot and CEO of Graze, in a statement
In 2021, when Robin Autopilot relocated to McKinney from Plano, Fahey was the company’s CEO after acquiring the company, changing it from a franchise model to a RaaS business. Since then he’s transitioned from his role at Robin to CEO of Graze.
At the time, Robin’s move to McKinney was the largest relocation achieved by McKinney’s innovation fund, an effort to attract new businesses and jobs to the city. The relocation moved 17 existing positions to McKinney and the company intended to create 58 new jobs with a $90,000 average salary, according to The Dallas Morning News.
According to Fahey, "We are excited about the success of this initiative and we look forward to the possibility of expanding it and other key programs to serve enterprise-level customers in the rapidly growing autonomous mowing industry throughout Texas.”
