Full-Time
Posted on 8/18/2026
Autonomy hardware and perception software
$175k - $210k/yr
San Jose, CA, USA
In Person
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
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Bonsai Robotics provides autonomy and automation solutions for vehicles used in tough environments like orchards, vineyards, fields, and mines. Its Visionsteer uses a vision-based perception, planning, and controls stack to enable faster, more reliable vehicle operation, letting novices work with the skill of experienced operators. The company supplies autonomy-ready hardware kits and software that can be added to new machines or retrofitted to existing ones, designed to operate without GPS or cellular connectivity. Its goal is to help OEMs and growers deploy autonomous vehicles that boost productivity and reduce downtime, offering ROI on efficiency improvements driven by analysis of remote, harsh environments and close partnerships with manufacturers and growers.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Series A
Total Funding
$25.5M
Headquarters
San Jose, California
Founded
2022
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Bonsai Robotics expands leadership team to accelerate next phase of growth. New leaders strengthen expertise across people, product, customer success, and robotics engineering Growers are operating in an increasingly challenging environment, facing labor shortages, rising input costs, and pressure to do more with fewer resources." - Co-Founder and CEO Tyler Niday SAN JOSE, CA, UNITED STATES, July 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ - Bonsai Robotics, the leader in AI-first, vision-based autonomy software for agriculture, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with the addition of three executives: Chris Pitzer as VP of Hardware Engineering, Andrew MacDonell as VP of Product Strategy & Customer Success, and Deborah Tellez as Head of People. The appointments reflect the company's continued momentum as it scales operations and builds the team to tackle its next phase of growth. "Growers are operating in an increasingly challenging environment, facing labor shortages, rising input costs, and pressure to do more with fewer resources," says Co-Founder and CEO Tyler Niday. "As demand for autonomous solutions continues to grow, adding leaders of Deborah's, Chris's, and Andrew's caliber strengthens our ability to execute, innovate, and deliver the technologies our customers need to operate more efficiently and profitably." Chris Pitzer, VP of Hardware Engineering Chris brings decades of robotics hardware experience to Bonsai, including senior engineering and director-level leadership roles at Neato Robotics and Fetch Robotics, two Silicon Valley robotics startups that were successfully acquired. In addition to the fast-paced startup culture, Chuck has experienced product development with the rigor of Japanese (Panasonic Avionics), German (Vorwerk International) and American aerospace (Boeing, Raytheon) engineering. Chuck holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida and a Masters in Materials Science from UCLA - along with a Professional Engineering license in Mechanical Engineering Machine Design in the state of California. Andrew MacDonell, VP of Product Strategy & Customer Success Andrew MacDonell joins Bonsai Robotics with a track record of building and scaling hardware/software products across precision agriculture and regulated industries. Andrew joined Bonsai from Topcon Agriculture, where he led the digital business segment, scaling precision machine control and automation products across one of the world's largest precision-ag platforms. Before Topcon, he co-founded Optama, an orchard robotics startup focused on cutting chemical and water inputs in high-value specialty crops. Earlier in his career, Andrew led product and engineering teams at Abbott, where he shipped patented hardware/software systems into life-critical, FDA-regulated patient care. His product philosophy starts with customer needs, driving the focus and innovation required to deliver meaningful value at scale. Andrew holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Loyola Marymount University and an MBA from U.C. Berkeley Haas. Deborah Tellez, Head of People Deborah joins Bonsai Robotics with a rare combination of people operations and revenue operations expertise developed across high-growth technology companies. Before joining Bonsai, Deborah spent three years as Head of People and Head of Revenue Operations at Fieldin, a smart farming company serving specialty crop growers, where she built out the company's people function while also leading the revenue operations behind deal management and compensation design. As a member of Fieldin's leadership team, she shaped both people and revenue strategy, modernizing core systems, strengthening compliance, and building the compensation and operational programs that scaled with the business. Earlier, Deborah held People Operations and Revenue Operations leadership roles at Totango and Landit, high-growth technology companies where she developed the rare combination of people and revenue expertise that defines her work today. In 2021 she was recognized as a Top 100 Revenue Operations Leader by The Modern Sale. Deborah is a certified Predictive Index Practitioner. About Bonsai Robotics Bonsai Robotics develops AI-first, vision-based autonomy that makes off-road equipment smarter, safer, and more productive. Bonsai Intelligence is a connected platform that enables autonomous operations of mixed fleets anytime, anywhere. From OEM integrations to its Amiga product line, Bonsai brings reliable automation to the world's most demanding field operations using advanced perception and embodied AI - reducing costs and increasing operational efficiencies. Learn more at https://bonsairobotics.ai/ Linda McNair Bonsai Robotics +1 831-420-7949 email Sustainable Agriculture Today here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. Sustainable Agriculture Today do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Bonsai Robotics Inc., a developer of vision-based autonomy software for agriculture, has announced its acquisition of farm-ng Inc., a company known for its modular electric robots for farm management.
Bonsai and farm-ng have a strong track record of collaboration across vineyards, orchards, and bedded crops.
Prior to Blue River, he designed agricultural equipment for the tree nut industry at Orchard Machinery Corporation, a key OEM now working with Bonsai Robotics.
Bonsai Robotics has raised $15M in Series A funding, led by AgFunder and Yamaha Motor Ventures, to scale its AI-driven autonomous fruit-harvesting robots. These robots aim to address labor shortages and improve yield accuracy to 99% in the $1.5 trillion global fruit farming industry. The technology uses lidar, hyperspectral imaging, and adaptive AI for precise fruit picking. Bonsai plans to deploy 50 prototypes by mid-2025, using a pay-per-use model to reduce costs.