The Reservoir Launches Evergreen Venture Fund to Back Early-Stage Agtech Startups in AI

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The Reservoir, a US-based agricultural innovation firm, has unveiled a new evergreen venture capital fund designed to back early-stage startups developing technologies in artificial intelligence, robotics, automation and precision agriculture.

The fund, known as Reservoir Venture (VC), will focus on pre-seed investments in companies creating next-generation tools for the farming sector. It aims to inject what it calls “smart capital” into emerging startups before they achieve full product-market fit, helping them accelerate commercialisation through field testing and applied research.

Reservoir’s founder and chief executive Danny Bernstein said the new fund builds on the company’s existing work at Reservoir Farms, its innovation accelerator and robotics hub in Salinas, California. The hub—launched last month with support from agricultural machinery giant John Deere—serves as a 40-acre testbed for agtech startups developing automation and digital solutions for the field.

Bernstein explained that Reservoir VC will invest in companies “with valuations aligned to today’s agtech exit realities,” citing its previous partnerships with soil health firm TerraBlaster, produce software company Agriful, sensing technology developer Nexstera Tech, and automation startup Farm-ng, which was recently acquired by Bonsai Robotics.

To strengthen the fund’s strategic leadership, Reservoir has appointed Matthew Hoffman, a former global R&D and digital transformation lead at Driscoll’s, as general partner. Hoffman brings years of experience in specialty crops and digital agriculture, and will focus on helping startups validate their technologies through real-world field trials.

“We will have investors in the field, testing technology with our teams and partners,” Bernstein said. “This hands-on approach ensures our portfolio companies are solving real agricultural challenges.”

The firm is collaborating with UC Davis on research and field testing, especially in agricultural robotics, to close the gap between laboratory innovation and farm-level application.