Suma Reddy, Co-founder & CEO, Gather | She Pitches, She Wins | TiEcon 2025
At TiEcon 2025’s “She Pitches, She Wins,” Suma Reddy, Co-founder & CEO of Gather, stepped onto the stage with a powerful call to action: it’s time to redefine the future of work in agriculture. Her pitch wasn’t just about technology—it was about dignity, safety, and sustainability for the people who power our food systems.
Reinventing the Wheel (Literally)
The agricultural industry faces a mounting labor crisis. With farmworker shortages rising, aging labor forces, and soaring heat-related injuries, something as basic as the 2,000-year-old wheelbarrow has become a symbol of how little farm tools have evolved.
That’s where Gather Rover comes in—an AI-powered, autonomous hauling tool that Suma describes as “the iPod, not the iPhone” of agriculture. Designed for simplicity, the Rover follows crop rows using computer vision, requires no GPS, weighs under 100 pounds, and takes less than three minutes to train on. It significantly boosts harvest efficiency by 30%, potentially adding $1 million in value per 1,000-acre farm—while also improving the daily lives of farmworkers.
Suma emphasized that many robotic solutions are overly complex and prohibitively expensive. The Rover, by contrast, is priced at $6,000–$10,000, offering affordability with 28–40% margins at scale. Gather has already sold 14 units through pilots with both large and small farms and academic institutions.
Building a Simpler, Safer Future for Farming
During the Q&A, Suma noted that the bill of materials is currently $3,300, with scale bringing it down to $3,000, enabling healthy profit margins. Maintenance, similar to AppleCare, would be offered as an add-on, although the product itself is low-maintenance compared to most robotics on the market.
The audience clearly saw the potential—not only in Gather’s product but in its mission. “We’re obsessed with building for the people who feed us,” Suma said, highlighting her experience building products across crops like sugarcane, leafy greens, and apples.
About Gather
Gather Agricultural Inc. is a U.S.-based agri-robotics startup focused on creating AI-powered tools that increase efficiency and safety in farming operations. With its flagship product—the Gather Rover—the company is making agricultural work smarter, simpler, and more humane.
Watch Suma’s full pitch on YouTube and discover how Gather is transforming agriculture from the ground up.