John Deere has acquired Silicon Valley-based start-up Bear Flag Robotics for $250m (£180m) in a bid to create 'smarter machines with advanced technology'.
Announcing the news, the US machinery giant said the deal would 'accelerate the development and delivery of automation and autonomy on the farm'.
Founded in 2017, Bear Flag Robotics develops autonomous driving technology compatible with existing machines.
John Deere first started working with Bear Flag in 2019 as part of the company's Startup Collaborator program.
Since then, Bear Flag has successfully deployed its autonomous solution on a limited number of farms in the US.
Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere, said: "Deere views autonomy as an important step forward in enabling farmers to leverage their resources strategically to feed the world.
"Bear Flag's team of talented agriculture professionals, engineers and technologists have a proven ability to deliver advanced technology solutions to market.
"Joining that 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."
The Bear Flag team consists of agriculture professionals, engineers and technologists focused on autonomy, sensor fusion, vision, data, software and hardware.
They will remain in Silicon Valley where they will work with John Deere to accelerate innovation and autonomy for their farmer customers.
Igino Cafiero, co-founder and CEO of Bear Flag Robotics, said the start-up's mission was to increase global food production and reduce the cost of growing food.
"One of the biggest challenges farmers face today is the availability of skilled labor to execute time-sensitive operations that impact farming outcomes," he said.
"Autonomy offers a safe and productive alternative to address that challenge head on."
