Orchard Robotics Secures $22M to Enhance AI Crop Management Nationwide

Orchard Robotics, founded by Charlie Wu, a Cornell dropout and Thiel fellow inspired by his grandparents' apple farming legacy, has secured $22 million in Series A funding led by Quiet Capital and Shine Capital to advance its AI-driven crop management technology. The startup uses compact cameras mounted on tractors to capture ultra-high-resolution images of fruit, which are analyzed by AI to assess size, color, and health, with data centralized in a cloud-based platform that assists farmers in making precise decisions about fertilization, pruning, and harvesting. Wu identified a significant gap where even the largest U.S. farms rely on manual sampling, leading to inaccurate estimations of crop health and yield, which affects operational decisions such as chemical use, labor needs, and marketing potential. Orchard Robotics' technology is already adopted by major apple and grape farms and is expanding to other crops like blueberries, cherries, and citrus. The integration of AI and computer vision in agriculture represents a broader AgTech innovation trend aimed at increasing efficiency and sustainability in farming practices. Despite competition in the sector, Wu remains optimistic about Orchard Robotics' potential to transform traditional farming through data-driven insights.