Tractor giant John Deere has agreed to acquire a Silicon Valley startup that develops autonomous driving technology for tractors.
Moline, Illinois-based Deere announced it is buying Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million. The startup, founded in 2017, has built technology that allows tractors to work in a field autonomously. Its tech is compatible with existing machines, allowing farmers to retrofit their tractor fleets with autonomous systems.
The two companies first started working together in 2019 when Bear Flag participated in Deere's Startup Collaborator program, which is designed to connect upstarts to Deere's industry experts and customers. The Bear Flag team will remain in Silicon Valley and work with Deere to bring more autonomous tractor tech to its customers, Deere said.
Deere views autonomous technology as "an important step forward" for farmers "to feed the world and create more sustainable and profitable operations," Deere CTO Jahmy Hindman said in a statement.
Bear Flag isn't the first major startup acquisition for Deere in recent years. The company acquired Blue River Technology for $305 million in 2017. The startup focused on crop protection by improving the accuracy of herbicide spraying machines.
