Upside Robotics is reducing fertilizer use and waste in corn crops

Upside Robotics was founded with a clear mission: build a company that makes a measurable impact on both climate and agriculture. The startup's co-founders first connected in 2023, united by a shared desire to tackle environmental challenges within the food system. Within less than a year of meeting, they found themselves living out of a camper trailer parked alongside Canadian corn fields as they worked to bring their robotics concept to life.

Based in Waterloo, Ontario, Upside Robotics develops lightweight, solar-powered autonomous robots that deliver precisely measured amounts of fertiliser and nutrients to crops when needed. The company's software uses proprietary algorithms that analyse weather patterns and soil data to determine both timing and dosage, enabling more targeted and efficient nutrient application.

For now, Upside's technology focuses exclusively on corn — one of the most fertiliser-dependent crops in large-scale agriculture. According to co-founder and CEO Jana Tian, the team intentionally selected corn because of its high fertiliser intensity, making it an ideal test case for reducing waste and improving efficiency.

Tian and co-founder and chief technology officer Sam Dugan met through the Entrepreneurs First accelerator program. After identifying shared interests in robotics, climate solutions, and agriculture, they focused on fertiliser waste as the intersection of their passions and expertise. The idea also aligned naturally with their professional backgrounds.

Dugan had been building robots since childhood, starting at age 10, while Tian brought years of experience as a chemical engineer in Unilever's food division. Together, they believed robotics could address inefficiencies in fertiliser application while offering farmers a financially compelling solution.

Early conversations with growers reinforced their hypothesis. "Traditionally, the way the fertiliser has been applied, only 30% of the total fertiliser gets taken by the crop, so a majority of it gets wasted," Tian explained. "Farmers usually do one application per season, so they have to front-load a lot of the fertiliser. However, the crops also require fertiliser throughout the season. We knew there was a problem that a lot of our growers really wanted different solutions to."

The pair officially launched Upside Robotics in 2024 and immersed themselves in hands-on fieldwork. Rather than operating from a distant office, they purchased a camper trailer and travelled from farm to farm, staying near fields throughout the growing season.

"We actually bought a camper trailer, and we moved around field to field," Dugan said. "We stayed on the side of the field every night, and we would walk, sometimes around the clock. We have spent every hour of the day in a corn field at some point in time."

Within two weeks, Dugan assembled the company's prototype robot — essentially a modified remote-controlled vehicle that the founders operated manually in the fields. As they guided the robot through rows of corn, they gathered data and demonstrated the system's potential directly to farmers.

"We did our manual applications in year one, and that allowed us to iterate super fast, not just kind of on the hardware side, but learning by being with the farmers," Tian said. "Some of our farmers said that we spent probably more time than they did in a lifetime in their fields. That allowed us to wrap up quickly. Neither of us was a farmer, so that gave us firsthand experience into what it is like to be a farmer, basically."

After dedicating the 2024 growing season to validating their concept, the founders spent the off-season refining their technology. By 2025, they had developed the fourth-generation robot and significantly expanded operations. The company increased its coverage from 70 acres in 2024 to 1,200 acres in 2025.

Looking ahead to the 2026 season, Upside Robotics is preparing to serve more than 3,000 acres and maintain 100% customer retention since its inception. According to the company, its system has enabled growers to reduce fertiliser use by 70%, resulting in approximately $150 in savings per acre per season.

To support its next phase of growth, Upside recently secured a $7.5 million seed round led by Plural, with participation from Garage Capital and the founders of Clearpath Robotics.

The newly raised capital will be directed toward continued research and development and to scaling operations to meet rising demand. More than 200 farms are currently on the company's waitlist. Upside also plans to expand beyond Canada, targeting entry into the U.S. corn belt in the near future.

"People always question if farmers are going to adopt new solutions, and they certainly are, and that's something that we've learned firsthand, as long as you can provide them with a clear [return on investment] and a clear reason why this technology was built," Tian said. "In our case, it wasn't something that we actually had to sell to farmers. In a lot of cases, our farmers actually asked for this solution."