John Deere wants to build tractors of the future, and it's bringing startups along for the ride.
Moline-based Deere announced this week that it's launching the Startup Collaborator program to foster better relationships with upstart tech companies. The goal of the program is to deepen Deere's relationship with startups that can add value to Deere's customers.
The program will give Deere and select startups the flexibility to test new technologies with Deere customers without having to work under a "formal business relationship," Deere said. Startups will also get affiliation and mentoring from Deere as part of the program.
"Our focus for the Startup Collaborator is specifically on startups that want to work with John Deere in real-world customer environments to determine the technology readiness of their innovations," John Stone, senior VP of Deere's Intelligent Solutions Group, said in a statement. "Innovation has been at the heart of John Deere for more than 180 years."
Three agtech startups are already working in the program: Bear Flag Robotics, a California startup developing autonomous technology for tractors; Taranis, an Israeli company developing automated field scouting services; and Hello Tractor, a Nigerian company that makes an application to help farmers manage tractor fleets. Hello Tractor was co-founded by a University of Chicago grad and won UChicago's Social New Venture Challenge competition in 2014.
The Startup Collaborator is the latest tech-forward move from Deere in recent years. Last year Deere bought Blue River Technology, a California startup that brings machine learning to agricultural spraying equipment, for $305 million. In 2016 it launched a Fitbit-like app for your lawn mower.
