12 MINUTES – Episode 13: Tim Kreukniet from Trabotyx
In this episode of 12 MINUTES, Antler associate partner in Amsterdam, Saskia van den Ende, interviews Tim Kreukniet, CEO and co-founder of Trabotyx. Tim, an experienced hardware and go-to-market expert, is one of the first founders in the Benelux fund that Antler invested in. Previously, he established a Dutch subsidiary in the US for EVBox, the world’s largest EV charging company. After moving back to the Netherlands, he looked for a new challenge outside carbon reduction and found his interest in agriculture. He met his co-founder, Mohamed, who, despite his background in the aerospace industry, has strong agricultural roots through his family in Tunisia. Together, they founded Trabotyx. Trabotyx develops a weeding robot that uses computer vision and mechatronics to identify and eliminate individual weeds, reducing the need for chemical use in agriculture. Currently at the MVP stage, the company is raising funds to advance its mission. Their technology aims to improve crop yield, soil health, and farmers’ profitability by automating labor-intensive tasks. Tim, driven by a strong mission, sees deep tech as the key to revolutionising the traditionally low-tech agriculture sector. In this episode, Tim shares how he found his co-founder Mohamed, the challenges of working with deep tech and hardware, the hardest aspects of being a founder, and any significant pivots Trabotyx has undergone.