The startup business involves a lot of innovation and money. Just after announced its purchase of Dot Technology Corp., Raven Industries issued a statement that it was acquiring Smart Ag, the autonomous tractor firm based in Iowa.

According to the press announcement, this acquisition is part of Raven Autonomy, the company’s strategic growth platform announced earlier this week. The business will complement the company’s Applied Technology Division.

In the press statement, Dan Rykhus, president and CEO, Raven Industries, noted that the Smart Ag move is part of what he’s calling a “bold, company-wide strategy for Raven. It is a key investment in Raven Autonomy, one of the two strategic growth platforms. Autonomy in agriculture is the future of farming, and this acquisition, coupled with our existing precision agriculture solutions, solidifies our position as a technology leader within this market.”

With Raven Autonomy, the company aims to deliver autonomous solutions for agriculture to enable both its OEM partners and ag retailers to be successful. In the release, Raven noted that “now more than ever, OEMs need to deliver premier precision ag solutions in order to compete. Raven Autonomy will deliver on this great challenge.”

Combined with the Dot Technology Corp. acquisition, Smart Ag brings perception and path planning capabilities to the company’s technologies in precision ag operations.

Related:Ag autonomy company enters new agreement

Smart Ag is based in Ames, Iowa, and was founded in 2015. The company offers aftermarket retrofit kits to automate farm equipment and a platform to connect, manage and safely operate autonomous agricultural machinery. Smart Ag also has an established dealer network and development team.

Brian Myer, division vice president, Raven Applied Technology, notes that “together, the expertise of both companies will allow for more operations to be performed in-field – with a significant increase in both performance and outputs. By automating existing machine platforms and implements, driverless machines have great potential to complement the work of manned machine operations in the field.”

Learn more about Raven Applied Technology at ravenprecision.com. And get information about Smart Ag technology at smart-ag.com.

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