# James Paterson

> James Paterson is the co-founder and CEO of Aerobotics, a Cape Town-based precision agriculture company that turns drone and satellite imagery into AI-powered, tree-by-tree insights for fruit and nut growers. Raised on a family citrus farm and trained as a mechatronics engineer at the University of Cape Town before a masters at MIT, Paterson pairs first-hand farming instinct with aerospace-grade robotics. Since founding Aerobotics with Benji Meltzer in 2014, he has grown it into a global player that now analyzes a large share of the Florida citrus crop and has raised roughly $30 million, insisting the company is 'a farming company, enabled by technology' rather than a tech company that dabbles in farming.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Aerobotics
- **Organizations:** Aerobotics, Endeavor
- **From:** Cape Town, South Africa
- **Nationality:** South African
- **Education:** Schooling (matriculated), Diocesan College (Bishops), Cape Town, BSc in Mechatronics Engineering, University of Cape Town, Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Co-founded and scaled Aerobotics from a farm prototype to a global precision-agriculture company, Raised roughly $30 million in total funding, including a ~$17 million Series B in December 2020, Built technology that analyzes a large share (about one-third) of the Florida citrus market

## Career timeline

- **childhood** — Grew up on the family fruit farm near Cape Town; designed a mechanised drip-line irrigation cleaner and citrus trailers
- **UCT** — Studied Mechatronics Engineering, winning awards for building aerial and ground robots
- **MIT** — Completed a masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics; worked on gimballed rocket control, an optical-flow localisation system, and autonomous collision avoidance and path planning for UAVs
- **2014** — Co-founded Aerobotics with Benji Meltzer to combine aerial imagery with machine learning for farmers
- **2018** — Aerobotics launched new precision agriculture products including the Aeroview platform and Aeroview Scout app; expanded into the US with teams in Florida and California
- **2020-12** — Closed a Series B of nearly $17 million led by Naspers Foundry, with FMO, Endeavor Catalyst and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation
- **2025** — Continues as CEO; Aerobotics serves hundreds of farming groups across Africa and the US, with the US as its largest market

## Achievements

- Co-founded and scaled Aerobotics from a farm prototype to a global precision-agriculture company
- Raised roughly $30 million in total funding, including a ~$17 million Series B in December 2020
- Built technology that analyzes a large share (about one-third) of the Florida citrus market
- Grew Aerobotics to serve hundreds of farming groups across roughly 18 countries
- Aerobotics recognized among innovation-award winners, including being named to Fast Company's most innovative lists and selected into the Endeavor entrepreneur network
- Won awards at UCT for building aerial and ground robots

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — In an AgFunderNews Q&A, Paterson reiterated Aerobotics' 'farming company enabled by tech' positioning and its focus on solving real farmer problems, with the US as its biggest market.

## Links

- Website: https://aerobotics.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/james-paterson-5735a8123
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aerobotics_sa
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLtKpbBlsTw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aeroboticsintl

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/james-paterson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01