IRVINE, CALIF. (July 14, 2026) – The Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT) selected Sami Robotics, a startup developing a multifunctional robotic platform capable of performing a variety of field tasks to receive the first WGCIT-sponsored residency slot at Reservoir Farms. The startup’s initial focus will be on harvesting.
The residency will allow Sami to refine and test its technology alongside growers in real-world conditions at Reservoir’s Salinas location.
“Harvesting has long been the most challenging segment of mechanization for growers,” said Walt Duflock, SVP, Innovation at Western Growers. “We are confident that Pascal and Éric and their team at Sami Robotics will provide solutions that work, and there is no better place for them to field test their technology than at Reservoir Farms.”
“We are honored to be the first company selected for this meaningful sponsorship,” said Pascal Labrecque, CEO and Co-Founder of Sami Robotics. “This support from WGCIT is a strong endorsement of our team’s dedication and of the importance of our mission to help growers address the future of agricultural labor through robotics.”
“Building agricultural robots is one thing; proving they can deliver value in real field conditions is another,” said Éric Lapalme, CPO and Co-Founder of Sami Robotics. “Reservoir Farms offers an exceptional environment to test, refine and improve our platform alongside growers. The feedback we receive during this residency will be instrumental in making our technology more capable, reliable and impactful.”
Reservoir Farms helps startups get to the first viable product in less time and for less capital by providing shared R&D space; shared commercially grown field acreage; shared equipment from partners like John Deere and real-world grower feedback on products they are building. In May, Western Growers announced they will provide Reservoir Farms $1.5 million in partnership funding over the next three years.
“Western Growers helped us turn Reservoir Farms into more than just a test field — rather the Olympic Village of agtech,” said Danny Bernstein, CEO of Reservoir Farms. “Their commitment to sponsoring residencies signals to founders that if you’re serious about solving real problems, there’s an ecosystem here ready to back you — giving high potential teams the chance to train in real grower conditions, iterate quickly, and bring technologies to market that actually work for growers.”
For more information, please contact:
Ann Donahue
(949) 302-7600
[email protected]
About Western Growers: Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers’ members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce.