Matt Stevens on Robotics for Agriculture
First Founder Dinner for W26: Apple genetics + metal fabrication + internet in a farm field + Waterloo talent + 3D printer on the back of a pick up truck = why Waterloo is ready for the future.
TL;DR: Matt Stevens, founder of Finite Robotics, kicked off the W26 Founder Dinner Series sharing his journey from selling FleetCarma to Geotab to building orchard robotics. His big insight: understand the economics your customers face, labor is 50% of agriculture costs. He's leveraging Waterloo's unique combo of AI talent and hardware fabrication expertise, building without VC pressure, and he's actually a farmer himself. His vision goes beyond apple-thinning robots, he wants to change how we grow food to improve human health.
This week marked the first dinner in our W26 term Founder Dinner Series, supported by Osler and TD Innovation Banking. We brought together 20 founders in the very early stages of building their companies for home-cooked meals hosted at Builders Club. Over the next three months, we’ll host two dinners each month, and this inaugural event featured Matt Stevens.
The Vision Beyond the Product
Matt is building a robotics company in agriculture, with a first product focused on thinning baby apples in orchards. The robot harvests (more accurately, eliminates) baby apples early in the season to thin the tree, ultimately delivering better yields. But the product itself is less important than Matt’s broader vision: to change how food is grown so we improve what we eat and the overall health of humans everywhere.
The Economics of Agriculture
Matt dove deep into the economics of agriculture, particularly with apples, and highlighted the significant role that labor costs play in the industry. Fruit requires human hands for much of the work needed to achieve optimal yields from crops. In fact, labor can represent more than half the cost of typical agricultural operations. This is where robotics can make a transformative difference. That connects to his broader vision. Lower the labor costs of farming and you can increase the quality and diversity of food we can grow locally.
Matt’s Journey
Matt brings nearly two decades of experience in electric mobility and sustainability to agriculture. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, where his thesis focused on electric vehicle design and battery degradation. He co-founded FleetCarma, which was acquired by Geotab in June 2018, where he then served as VP of Electric Vehicles and later as Executive Sponsor for Sustainability until 2023. His journey includes working across different organizations, including roles as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo focused on battery, electric powertrain, and smart grid research.
What stands out from his story is how he approached building Finite Robotics by developing the product without a venture capital focus, instead ensuring there would be a viable market first. He’s also an apple grower himself, operating commercial orchards near Simcoe and a test orchard near Waterloo, giving him firsthand understanding of the challenges growers face.
Beyond Apples: The Conversation
The dinner conversation ranged beyond product development. We explored the fascinating world of apple genetics, discussing why apples taste the way they do and the science behind modern apple varieties. These tangents revealed the depth of understanding Matt has developed about his industry.
The Waterloo Magic
A significant portion of our discussion centered on what makes Waterloo special for Matt’s venture. The region offers access to some of the best minds in AI product development and exceptional talent coming out of the university. But Waterloo’s advantages extend beyond software and AI.
The region also boasts fabrication expertise and people who can manufacture products from metal and other materials. Matt benefits from access to professionals who understand how to develop real hardware for farming applications. This is critical because farming equipment requires higher-grade, higher-quality manufacturing than consumer products as farmers are notoriously tough on their equipment.
Matt’s workflow demonstrates this ecosystem advantage perfectly. A local Mennonite fabricator creates the frame for his robot, while Matt leverages technology to iterate on designs. With a 3D printer on-site during testing and satellite-linked high-speed internet, he can rapidly prototype and refine his product in real-world conditions.
Key Takeaways
The evening revealed several valuable insights for early-stage founders:
Knowing the economics your customers face can help you develop a viable product they will love.
Building without immediate venture capital pressure allows you to validate market viability first.
Local ecosystem advantages matter with access to specialized talent, manufacturing capabilities, and testing environments can accelerate development.
The combination of cutting-edge technology (AI, 3D printing, high-speed connectivity) with traditional manufacturing expertise creates powerful opportunities for hardware innovation.
Matt’s approach to building a robotics company in agriculture demonstrates that success comes from understanding your market deeply, leveraging your local advantages, and focusing on solving real economic problems rather than just building impressive technology.
There was lots of conversation after!
About this series
The Founder Dinner series is offered by Builders Club and Barn Ventures. The series features home cooked meals, founder discussion and connection, and is supported by a workshop series that has been developed with founders. This has evolved over nearly three years with the support of various people and organizations in the ecosystem. We have had a significant number of founders move on to raise capital from YC, Afore.vc, Garage VC, etc. Founders from companies like Datacurve.ai, Voltra, Automax.ai, and many others have attended.
Applications are open for the next series in the spring.