Andrew Bate

Andrew Bate is the co-founder and CEO of SwarmFarm Robotics, where he leads the company’s vision and strategy. A grain farmer and agronomist by trade, he brings more than 27 years of hands-on experience to the development of the SwarmBot and the broader SwarmFarm platform.

Andrew trained as an agronomist at the University of Queensland and has spent his life in agriculture, growing wheat, sorghum, chickpeas and mungbeans in Central Queensland.

In 2010, he started a joint research program with the University of Sydney and Queensland University of Technology to develop the foundational technology for robotic agriculture.

Today, SwarmFarm is recognised as a world leader in agricultural robotics and was one of the first companies to put commercial autonomous robots in the hands of farmers. More than 300 SwarmBots have been delivered to growers across Australia, and the SwarmFarm fleet covers more than one million acres of commercial farming per month.

In 2025, Andrew and his wife and co-founder, Jocie, won Australian Agtech of the Year and were inducted into the AusAgritech Hall of Fame for their pioneering work in autonomous farming.