Insider Brief
- Upside Robotics raised $7.5 million in seed funding to expand its autonomous fertilizer robots across Canada, bringing total funding to more than $11 million, according to the University of Waterloo.
- The Velocity-incubated startup builds lightweight, AI-enabled robots that apply fertilizer directly at crop root zones and says its systems have logged more than 10,000 autonomous kilometers and applied over 100,000 liters of fertilizer across 1,300 acres.
- The round was led by Plural with participation from Garage Capital, Entrepreneurs First and the founders of Clearpath Robotics, and the new capital will support expanded field deployments and partnerships with growers as the company scales.
Upside Robotics has raised $7.5 million in seed funding to expand its autonomous farming robots across Canada, according to the University of Waterloo. The round was led by Plural, with participation from Garage Capital, Entrepreneurs First and the founders of Clearpath Robotics, bringing total funding to more than $11 million.
Upside Robotics is part of Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s startup incubator, which has supported more than 500 companies since 2008.
The Velocity-incubated startup builds lightweight, AI-enabled robots designed to apply fertilizer precisely at the root zone. The systems are remotely managed, allowing farmers to monitor crop health and deploy nutrients without driving heavy equipment across fields.
According to Waterloo, Upside robots have logged more than 10,000 autonomous kilometers and applied over 100,000 liters of fertilizer across 1,300 acres. The company saids its targeted approach is a way to reduce input waste, lower costs and limit soil compaction.
Co-founders Sam Dugan and Jana Tian launched the company after graduating from Waterloo, working alongside farmers to refine the system in live field conditions. Waterloo indicated the new capital is expected to support deeper partnerships with growers and agricultural companies as the company scales deployment.
“Our vision is a world where farmers can effortlessly manage their operations remotely with continuous analytics and actionable insights while contributing positively to the environment,” Dugan said in the announcement. “We want to align farm profitability with climate goals through innovation in precision agriculture.”
