A route into Southern Europe's deep-tech network

Orbiba Robotics was one of 17 startups selected for the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, an accelerator funded by the European Union. A South3E interview published on 22 March 2024 framed the selection as more than a line on an accelerator résumé: it was an opportunity to explain how the company intends to connect deep technology with practical farming.

Incorporated on 19 April 2022, Orbiba Robotics was created around the aim of making regenerative farming easier to practise with small, intelligent machines. In the interview, CEO İlker Bektaş connected the company's “organic bond” idea with access to cleaner food, tangible value for growers and careful attention to technology's environmental footprint. The product direction centres on affordable, low-carbon robot platforms for small and mid-sized farms.

What made S3E Charge relevant?

Bektaş identified the programme's dedicated focus on deep-tech ventures as its distinguishing feature. That focus offered Orbiba a way to understand Europe's research, entrepreneurship and investment landscape more closely, while learning to communicate a complex hardware product in terms of market need and social impact as well as engineering.

• Programme: EU-funded S3E Charge 2024.
• Cohort: 17 deep-tech startups from Southern Europe.
• Orbiba's focus: accessible, intelligent machines for organic and regenerative agriculture.
• Long-term direction: strengthening farmers while making a measurable contribution to cleaner production.

The five-year global leadership ambition expressed in the interview is a company vision, not an achieved market position. Selection for an accelerator is likewise not a guarantee of funding or commercial success. Its value lies in the opportunity to advance product validation within a stronger European network.

Source: This original editorial summary is based on South3E's interview with Orbiba Robotics for S3E Charge 2024.