Published: October 20, 2026
TLDR: First Pacific Northwest site to open spring 2027, developed in collaboration the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission and TRIDEC to put agricultural robotics startups in working orchards, vineyards and berry fields
YAKIMA, Wash., Oct. 20, 2026 — Reservoir today announced Reservoir Farms – Washington, a new on-farm technical community for rugged physical AI, expected to open in spring 2027 in Washington’s Yakima Valley, home to over $3B in high-value crop agriculture.
Announced at FIRA USA, the company’s first Pacific Northwest community is being developed alongside the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission (WTFRC) and the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC), as well as the North American Blueberry Council and other national and local organizations. Reservoir is also exploring partnership with Washington State University’s Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center (IAREC). It is Reservoir’s second expansion outside California, following Yuma, Arizona, a pilot collaboration with University of Arizona.
“Technology is strategic to the future of Washington agriculture,” said Danny Bernstein, founder and CEO of Reservoir. “Tree fruit, blueberries, wine grapes and hops are some of the hardest crops in the world to automate, and labor is now the biggest cost Washington growers face. Expanding into the Pacific Northwest shows the Reservoir model is working. When you put builders on real farms with growers who will tell them the truth, rugged physical AI goes from prototype to production much faster.”
How Reservoir Farms – Washington Supports Rugged Physical AI Startups
Reservoir Farms – Washington follows the same partnership model as Reservoir’s other locations, placing startups on working farms alongside researchers and growers to build, test and refine technology under commercial conditions. Initial work will focus on tree fruit and blueberries, with additional testing in wine grapes and hops, and plans to extend into row crop systems over time.
Reservoir, which already has more than 30 startups enrolled across its locations, will offer startups with multiple points of entry at Reservoir Farms – Washington. Resident startups will have access to the standard benefits of Reservoir membership and Associate-tier startups will gain free farm access in Washington. Bonsai Robotics and Sky Sense, which are already developing technology for tree fruit, and early-stage startups Cordon and Rootline will join Reservoir Farms – Washington as members.
Collaboration with leading research institutions continues to be strategic for Reservoir to ensure productivity and workforce outcomes are considered equally. To support this, Washington State University and Reservoir are exploring opportunities to establish a collaborative partnership focused on advancing agricultural innovation, research, and technology development.
“Washington growers need innovative technologies tested under real-world farming conditions,,” said Dr. Naidu Rayapati, director of WSU Prosser IAREC. “Opportunities to bring ag-tech startups together with our faculty to evaluate emerging technologies across diverse cropping systems, including orchards and vineyards, could give growers valuable insights within a single growing season and rigorous validation over multiple seasons, helping them make informed decisions, reduce risks, and improve productivity and profitability.”
Why Washington Tree Fruit and Blueberry Growers Need AgTech
Washington is the nation’s leading producer of apples, pears and sweet cherries, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In 2025, the state grew about two-thirds of U.S. commercial apples, a crop valued at nearly $1.9 billion, along with about 70% of the nation’s sweet cherries and 44% of its pears. Washington also led the country in cultivated blueberries, producing 192.4 million pounds, about a quarter of the U.S. crop. Blueberries combine nearly every challenge Reservoir startups work on: a labor-intensive harvest that is hard to mechanize without damaging fruit, and constant disease and pest pressure.
Those crops share a common constraint: labor. Labor represents 50% to 57% of orchard variable costs for Washington apples, according to WSU. H-2A guest worker positions certified in Washington nearly doubled between 2017 and 2025, to more than 34,500, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Over a similar period, the number of Washington farms with orchards fell 12%, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture.
“Our growers are spending more on inputs every season, and they will not adopt technology that was not developed or tested locally,” said Ines Hanrahan, executive director of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission. “A machine that hasn’t been through a Washington growing season isn’t ready for one. Building here, with growers involved from day one, is how we make sure our industry is robot ready, and the robots are ready for our industry.”
Like Reservoir’s sites in Salinas, California’s Wine Country, and Arizona, Reservoir Farms – Washington is designed around a public-private partnership model that seeks to pair local research institutions, grower organizations and economic development groups with national industry partners. TRIDEC is providing financial support tying the site to the Tri-Cities region’s long-term economic development strategy. Reservoir’s multi-region model is also backed by John Deere, which committed $10 million over three years in August, and Western Growers, which announced a $1.5 million, three-year partnership earlier this year.
“Agriculture is the heart and soul of this region, and the next generation of ag jobs will be in designing, running and servicing the technology,” said Karl Dye, president and CEO of TRIDEC. “Reservoir gives agricultural technology companies a reason to build here. That’s why TRIDEC is backing it with real dollars with the full support of our membership.”
ABOUT RESERVOIR:
Reservoir is a new rural institution that combines an agricultural innovation platform with a venture capital fund to advance the impact of rugged physical AI in critical industries. Reservoir Farms are the world’s first on-farm technical communities, starting in the Salinas Valley and expanding across California, Arizona and Washington. Reservoir VC backs startups solving real problems in agriculture that compound to other outdoor industries and across the rugged physical AI stack. By combining R&D space, hands-on grower input and early-stage capital, Reservoir helps turn promising ideas into tools for the growers who feed the world. Learn more at https://reservoir.co.