Canopii Aims to Break the Indoor Farming Mold

David Ashton grew up near Sacramento, California, and attended college in San Luis Obispo during the severe drought of the late 2000s.

He frequently drove the 300-mile route between Sacramento and San Luis Obispo, captivated by the vast lettuce fields—expanses of vibrant green set against a parched, barren landscape. The sight of these lush crops thriving under drought conditions, only to be shipped nationwide, left a lasting impression on Ashton. It later inspired him to found Canopii, a robotic farming startup focused on shortening produce supply chains.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Canopii develops fully automated robotic greenhouses that manage the entire growing cycle from seeding to harvest without human intervention. A single unit can produce up to 40,000 pounds of produce annually, using only one water spigot and occupying an area the size of a basketball court.

The farm structures are manufactured by GK Designs and are currently optimized for cultivating herbs and specialty greens such as baby bok choy and gai lan (Chinese broccoli).

Ashton shared with TechCrunch that the idea for Canopii truly took root after an agtech company in Portland, where he was slated to work, filed for bankruptcy just as he was driving up the coast to relocate. He developed the plans during evenings while his wife was in medical school.

After three years of groundwork, he secured a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to build a prototype. Following that success, he obtained a $1 million grant to construct a full-scale operational prototype.

“Now, five years later, we’ve reached a major milestone for the farm,” Ashton said. “We have an autonomous farm that grows everything from seed to harvest without any human involvement. We achieved this with a very small team and minimal capital, which sets us apart from the rest of the industry.”

To date, the company has raised approximately $3.6 million, with $2.3 million coming primarily from grants and the remainder from strategic partners.

Ashton is well aware of investor and venture capital skepticism toward the indoor farming sector, which saw high-profile companies like Bowery Farming and Plenty raise hundreds of millions before facing financial difficulties.

He contends that Canopii’s approach is fundamentally different from traditional vertical farms. By prioritizing deliberate, slow growth and avoiding venture capital initially, the company has sidestepped many common pitfalls.

“The capital structure needs to be diversified beyond just VC funding,” Ashton explained. “We’re a team of five now, and we’ve focused on perfecting a single farm unit, which has allowed us to learn extensively. If we had taken VC funding immediately and tried to scale within a year or two, it wouldn’t have been feasible for food infrastructure.”

The company has attracted interest from schools, restaurants, casinos, and other institutions. Having achieved its automation goal, Canopii now plans to establish its first commercial farm in downtown Portland. Looking ahead, the company aims to franchise these farm units—and yes, eventually seek venture capital when the time is right.

“We can mass-produce these farms like automobiles,” Ashton said. “A key achievement is that the entire system runs on just 100 amps at 240 volts—standard household power. You can literally install one in a backyard. That demonstrates the level of resource efficiency we’ve achieved with this farm.”