After months of declining repeated requests for pictures of its working prototype (to accompany articles written about the prototype’s use and development) Hire Henry turned to social media to show off their machine, accompanied by some video of their mower in use on their website. The 4thEst8 briefly talked with CEO George Holmes, but he declined to discuss the reveal.
The two person startup was founded in 2015 by Holmes, and co-founder Keiry “Katie” Moreno-Bonnett joined the company in 2018. The autonomous mower platform they’re developing is light enough that contractors don’t need a trailer to haul it around, and Hire Henry expects to lease it’s machines to make commercial lawn mowing accessible to a broader range of customers. Hire Henry came out of the University of Missouri, St. Louis ‘Accelerate D.E.I’ accelerator in 2021.
The mower has sensors and AI that integrates with a mapping app to navigate the area to be mowed. The company has been developing its Beta model for the past year, cutting grass for real-world feedback. This spring the company landed a beta project for the city of Sugar Land, Texas.
In 2021 Hire Henry won the AlphaLab “Clean Tech, Consumer Products, Smart Homes, and Smart Cities” and a $50,000 undiluted grant. The competition is hosted by Venture Cafe, Rotterdam.
Links:
On the 4thEst8:
