{"id":"b4197d3f-d9a1-4fa7-859a-c24c70222748","slug":"charlie-wu-orchard","name":"Charlie Wu","bioBrief":"Founder and CEO of Orchard Robotics, a San Francisco-based AgTech startup building camera-and-AI systems for precision fruit farming. Inspired by his grandparents, who were apple farmers in China, Wu began studying computer science at Cornell University — a top agriculture school — before dropping out as a 2024 Thiel Fellow to found Orchard Robotics in 2022. The company's tractor-mounted cameras collect ultra-high-resolution images analyzed by AI for fruit size, color, and health, deployed at some of the largest apple and grape farms in the U.S. Raised $22M Series A in September 2025 led by Quiet Capital and Shine Capital, with participation from General Catalyst and Contrary Capital.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/orchard-robotics-founded-by-a-thiel-fellow-cornell-dropout-raises-22m-for-farm-vision-ai/","title":"Orchard Robotics, founded by a Thiel fellow Cornell dropout, raises 22M for farm vision AI","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://agfundernews.com/the-ai-farming-company-orchard-robotics-bags-22m-to-expand-precision-ag-platform","title":"The AI farming company Orchard Robotics bags 22m","sourceName":"AgFunderNews"},{"url":"https://www.forbes.com/profile/charlie-wu/","label":"Forbes profile","title":"Charlie Wu — Forbes"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-08T22:54:31.602Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-11T15:11:13.417Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"10ce53a9-4973-45b8-8397-9b098d26c8f9","personId":"b4197d3f-d9a1-4fa7-859a-c24c70222748","companyId":"7b97d12f-e4a9-41ef-b13c-68b2836a4223","role":"ceo","roleTitle":"Founder & CEO","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","displayOrder":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-08T22:54:32.372Z","company":{"slug":"orchard-robotics","name":"Orchard Robotics"}},{"id":"975e78c3-c299-4147-ae2b-a0ce77e311a3","personId":"b4197d3f-d9a1-4fa7-859a-c24c70222748","companyId":"7b97d12f-e4a9-41ef-b13c-68b2836a4223","role":"founder","roleTitle":"Founder & CEO","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","displayOrder":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-08T23:05:39.126Z","company":{"slug":"orchard-robotics","name":"Orchard Robotics"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"d32df2e7-14bd-4497-85c4-eb20ff6baeef","personId":"b4197d3f-d9a1-4fa7-859a-c24c70222748","companyId":"7b97d12f-e4a9-41ef-b13c-68b2836a4223","foundingDate":"2022-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","cofounderStatus":"sole","stillAtCompany":true,"createdAt":"2026-08-11T15:11:14.637Z","company":{"slug":"orchard-robotics","name":"Orchard Robotics"}}]}