Canopii, the pioneering robotic organic farming startup founded by David Ashton of Marbleseed fame, is about to change the agricultural landscape forever. Following some unfortunate luck with the bankruptcy of the Portland-based agtech company he was supposed to start with, Ashton didn’t waste any time. He’s now all-in on creating a solution that addresses the huge complexities of produce supply chains. The company’s novel approach is all about developing fully autonomous greenhouses. These greenhouses control every aspect of growing crops from planting to picking without any human hands touching the process.
Ashton’s family lived outside Sacramento, California. While in college, he experienced the broader impacts of drought while living in San Luis Obispo. Driving the 300-mile stretch between these locations, he was captivated by the endless rows of lettuce farms thriving in arid conditions. This juxtaposition of lush crops against a bleak, dry backdrop inspired him to explore ways to reduce the distance between food production and consumption.
Canopii Technology is on a mission to make produce supply chains more efficient and equitable. They’re building robotic greenhouses that can produce 40,000 pounds of fresh produce annually. Even more remarkably, these greenhouses need only a single spigot of water and fit in the area of a single basketball court. Compared to their size and power, they’re extraordinarily efficient, requiring only 100 AMPs and 240 volts to operate.
The ambitious startup has attracted big dollar investors, raising nearly $3.6 million so far. Of this amount, $2.3 million has been raised primarily through grants, with the balance coming from smart investors. To prove their approach, Ashton recently secured a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant with the help of some skilled mentors to prototype Canopii. Building on this first success, he sought a $1 million grant from the Department of Defense to build a full-scale version.
Now, five years later, we’ve reached a huge accomplishment for the farm,” said Ashton. He mused on the stupendous body of work that’s been accomplished since Canopii just the beginning. He’s realistic about the skepticism around the indoor farming sector, but says diversifying funding sources is key to long term sustainability. “The capital stack has to be diversified beyond VC,” he emphasized.
Canopii is in the process of iterating on its inaugural farm. In the process, this has forced them to develop a deep understanding of what’s happening inside their robotic greenhouses. This extended software development period gives the company more time to hone its technology and processes before scaling up operations.
Ashton dreams of a future when Canopii will have crops rolling off assembly lines with the same efficiency as cars. This evolution would truly revolutionize the farming practice. The firm hopes to open its first commercial farm in Portland’s downtown, with dreams of changing the future of urban agriculture.