John Deere acquires autonomy startup Bear Flag Robotics for $250M

John Deere/Autonomy kits (8R, 9RX, 5ML)

On August 5, 2021 Deere agreed to buy Bear Flag Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup founded in 2017 that retrofits existing tractors with autonomous driving, for $250 million. The two had worked together since 2019 through Deere's Startup Collaborator program and Bear Flag had deployed autonomy on limited US farms.

• Purchase price: $250 million; Bear Flag founded 2017, focused on retrofitting autonomous tech to existing tractors.
• Collaboration began 2019 via Deere's Startup Collaborator program; limited US farm deployment by acquisition.
• Technology enables autonomous driving on farmers' existing equipment without full tractor replacement.