Victorian-based AgTech startup Drone-Hand has secured $720,000 in a pre-seed round to accelerate the commercial rollout of its autonomous drone platform. The technology is designed to transform livestock management, particularly in remote locations, by running entirely offline.

The raise was led by US-based Radius Capital, a venture firm with a specific focus on aerospace and drone technologies. Three Australian agribusiness investors also participated, a combination that signals strong validation from both the international tech community and the local industry it aims to serve.

The problem Drone-Hand is tackling is significant, especially in a country like Australia. Preventable livestock mortality costs the local sheep and cattle industries over $2 billion annually. The platform also addresses other key industry pain points, including labour shortages and the safety risks associated with manual farm work.

Founded by Edward Barraclough, who grew up on a mixed livestock and fine wool Merino farm in New South Wales, the company was "born out of a personal mission to help farmers work more efficiently and safely through automation".

"Drone-Hand is about creating tools that make life easier for people like my dad, farmers who want to stay on the land and work smarter," said Barraclough. "Autonomous systems are the next frontier in practical, farmer-first innovation."

Unlike many AgTech systems that rely on cloud connectivity, Drone-Hand’s platform can operate entirely offline. This is a critical feature for its target market, where reliable internet access is often nonexistent.

The system uses on-device AI, combining machine learning, drone automation, and fixed-camera systems to deliver real-time insights into livestock location, welfare, and infrastructure.

Practically, this automates laborious tasks such as:

The company claims its technology can perform tasks that would typically take hours in just a fraction of the time.

Drone-Hand has already validated its system's accuracy under real-world conditions. Trials with JBS Australia, a global agribusiness leader, demonstrated 99.9% accuracy in livestock identification.

The company's hardware is modular, offering portable quadcopters for smaller family farms as well as long-range Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) and "drone-in-a-box" models designed for 24/7 operation.

The new pre-seed funds are earmarked for team expansion, scaling sales and marketing capabilities, and driving commercial deployment across Australia over the next 6 to 18 months.

Drone-Hand reports that more than 200 producers have already expressed interest. The immediate goal is to convert this pipeline of trials into paying customers through on-farm demonstrations and strategic partnerships.

Following its Australian rollout, the company plans to expand internationally into North and South America. It is specifically targeting large-scale operations in regions like Texas and Brazil, where its offline autonomy is expected to offer a significant competitive advantage.

Barraclough credited the accelerator Farmers2Founders as being "pivotal" in the company's early growth. "Farmers2Founders gave us the education, network, and investor support to accelerate our vision," he said. "Their guidance was instrumental in helping us articulate the real-world impact of autonomous systems for agriculture."

"It's been incredible to watch Drone-Hand evolve from an idea into a fast-growing business making a real impact in the industry," said Skye Raward, Co-founder of Farmers2Founders. "This next chapter marks an exciting step forward, and it's a privilege to see founders like Edward turning innovation into commercial reality."