Steve Scheding
Founder at Green Atlas
Dr Steve Scheding is the founder of Green Atlas, an agtech company whose multi-camera imaging platform maps flowers, fruit and canopy features in orchards up to 6,000 times faster than manual crop counts, giving growers data to manage crop load and yield. He spent more than two decades at the University of Sydney's Australian Centre for Field Robotics, leading multidisciplinary robotics research applied to mining and agriculture. Green Atlas has partnered with SwarmFarm Robotics on autonomous fruit-thinning technology for apple orchards. On Unfunded, he discussed bootstrapping Green Atlas and using automation to optimise crop quality.
In their own words
From Optimising Crop Quality: Steve Scheding on Green Atlas, Automation, and Bootstrapping Success · UnfundedThe downside is hardware is hard. The upside is because it's hard, you get kind of a moat for free.
Career
- Now Founder · Green Atlas
- Earlier Researcher / Lecturer · University of Sydney (ACFR)
Sources: csr.acfr.usyd.edu.au
Key moments
Jump straight to the part of Optimising Crop Quality: Steve Scheding on Green Atlas, Automation, and Bootstrapping Success you want.
- 0:01 Green Atlas and the Future of Horticultural Innovation
- 1:26 Optimizing Horticulture for Quality Over Quantity
- 3:36 Automating Agriculture with High-Tech Sensors and Hardware
- 8:10 Navigating Startup Funding Challenges and Serendipitous Opportunities
- 12:49 Rapid Prototyping and Experimentation in Tech Commercialisation
- 15:31 Challenges and Costs of Outsourcing Hardware Development
- 16:40 Challenges and Realities of Agtech in the VC Model
- 25:27 Harnessing AI and Data for Agricultural Innovation
- 29:26 Bootstrapping Green Atlas: Credibility, Partnerships, and Cash Flow Strategies
Connections
Spot something wrong? Suggest a correction Updated 25 September 2026
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