Deere to further autonomous tech with Bear Flag acquisition

John Deere have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bear Flag Robotics to accelerate autonomous technology on farm. The deal, reported to be around $250 million USD, supports John Deere’s long-term strategy to create smarter machines with advanced technology to assist individual customer needs. John Deere first started working with Bear Flag in 2019 as part of the company’s Startup Collaborator program. Since then, the company has successfully deployed its autonomous solution on a limited number of farms in the U.S. John Deere chief technology officer Jahmy Hindman said the acquisition would allow Bear Flag to continue to evolve its industry-leading agriculture technology offering. “Deere views autonomy as an important step forward in enabling farmers to leverage their resources strategically to feed the world and create more sustainable and profitable operations,” Hindman said. “Bear Flag’s team of talented agriculture professionals, engineers and technologists have a proven ability to deliver advanced technology solutions to market. “Joining that expertise and experience with Deere’s expertise in autonomy, along with our world-class dealer channel, will accelerate the delivery of solutions to farmers that address the immense challenge of feeding a growing world.” Bear Flag Robotics co-founder and CEO Igino Cafiero said Bear Flag was created to unlock greater efficiency in food production to feed a growing global population. “One of the biggest challenges farmers face today is the availability of skilled labour to execute time-sensitive operations that impact farming outcomes,” Cafiero said. “Autonomy offers a safe and productive alternative to address that challenge head on.” Watch this space.