Solar Robots Cut Corn Fertilizer Waste by 70%

Imagine caring so much about solving a problem that you'd sleep in a camper trailer next to a corn field for an entire growing season. That's exactly what Jana Tian and Sam Dugan did in 2024, and their dedication is now helping farmers across Canada revolutionize how they grow one of the world's most important crops.

Their company, Upside Robotics, builds lightweight solar-powered robots that deliver precise amounts of fertilizer to corn plants at exactly the right time. The technology tackles a massive agricultural problem: traditionally, crops only absorb 30% of the fertilizer farmers apply, meaning 70% gets wasted into soil and waterways.

The waste happens because farmers typically apply all their fertilizer once at the start of the season. But corn needs nutrients throughout its growth cycle, not all at once. Upside's robots use weather and soil data to figure out when each plant needs feeding, then deliver just the right amount.

Tian, a former chemical engineer, and Dugan, who's been building robots since age 10, met at an accelerator program in 2023. Within months, they were living beside fields in Waterloo, Ontario, testing their first prototype: a remote-controlled car they'd follow around manually to collect data and show farmers how the system worked.

"Some of our farmers said that we spent probably more time than they did in a lifetime in their fields," Tian told TechCrunch. That hands-on approach helped them learn farming inside and out, despite neither having agricultural backgrounds.

The results speak for themselves. Upside cut fertilizer use by 70% on customer farms, saving growers around $150 per acre each season. The company grew from 70 acres in 2024 to 1,200 acres in 2025, with plans to cover 3,000 acres this year. Every single customer has stuck with them since day one.

The startup just raised $7.5 million to keep up with demand. More than 200 farms are waiting to use their robots, and the company plans to expand into America's corn belt soon.

The Ripple Effect

Beyond saving farmers money, this technology could significantly reduce agricultural runoff that pollutes waterways and contributes to climate change. Fertilizer production itself is energy-intensive, so using 70% less means cutting the carbon footprint of one of the world's most fertilizer-hungry crops.

The story also proves that farmers embrace innovation when it solves real problems. Tian notes they didn't have to convince growers to try their robots. In many cases, farmers actively asked for this exact solution once they understood the return on investment.

Two people with a vision, a camper trailer, and a commitment to spending every hour of the day and night in corn fields have created technology that makes farming more profitable and sustainable at the same time.