Rory Aronson

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 2013, Rory began working on FarmBot in his spare time. In early 2014 Rory was named a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow and received a $125,000 philanthropic grant to continue work on FarmBot.

Over the next three years, Rory advanced FarmBot’s hardware while company co-founders Rick and Tim developed the initial implementations of the FarmBot software stack.

In April of 2016 the co-founding team incorporated FarmBot, Inc. as a California Benefit Corporation, ensuring that the open-source roots of the company were integrated into the corporation’s legal purpose.

In July of 2016 the company debuted its first product: FarmBot Genesis. Rory has since been growing and leading the team while also developing company strategy, high-level system architecture, marketing material, the manufacturing and supply chains, and continuing to improve the hardware design.

Rory is also the CEO of OpenFarm, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit that was spun out of FarmBot to become a standalone application and community that aims to be the “Wikipedia of farming and gardening”. OpenFarm’s API is used by the FarmBot virtual farm designer. OpenFarm has been self-funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign executed by Rory in September of 2013.

Rory is also a co-founder and the COO of the SLO MakerSpace — a community workshop and craft center in San Luis Obispo, CA. FarmBot currently rents approximately 300 square feet within the SLO MakerSpace for R&D, and utilizes the space and equipment for light manufacturing and prototyping.