Deere & Company has acquired Bear Flag Robotics for US$250m. Founded in 2017, the Silicon Valley startup develops autonomous driving technology compatible with existing machines.

Supporting John Deere’s long-term strategy to create smarter machines with advanced technology, the company first started working with Bear Flag in 2019. Since then, Bear Flag has successfully deployed its autonomous solution on a limited number of North American farms.

“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,” said Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere.

Working closely with Deere, the Bear Flag team will remain in Silicon Valley.