In a move set to reshape the agricultural technology landscape, Bonsai Robotics Inc. has acquired farm-ng Inc., merging two of the most innovative forces in agtech. This strategic union aims to tackle the pressing challenges of labor shortages, operational costs, and efficiency that growers grapple with daily.
The integration of Bonsai’s cutting-edge autonomous AI technology with farm-ng’s modular electric robotic platform promises a new era of AI-first machines designed to revolutionize crop management. By combining intelligent software with advanced robotic hardware, the newly formed entity aims to deliver cost-effective, mixed-fleet solutions that enhance efficiency and reduce operational costs across a diverse range of crops, tasks, and environments.
Tyler Niday, CEO and co-founder of Bonsai Robotics, highlighted the significance of this acquisition, stating, “To date, our vision has been to make autonomy and AI accessible, easy to use, and deployable across all farm equipment whether retrofitted onto existing tractors or built into the next generation machine. This acquisition allows us to now develop those next generation machines to augment and empower today’s workforce while optimizing farm productivity. We are shifting the industry from iron to intelligence.”
The combined company boasts a strong foundation for growth, built on a proven track record of collaboration across vineyards, orchards, and bedded crops. With active commercial deployments and robust financial backing, the integration of Bonsai and farm-ng positions the entity for rapid expansion.
Brendan Dowdle, former CEO of farm-ng and now Chief Business Officer of the combined company, emphasized the shared vision of both teams: “From day one, both teams have been deeply aligned on making robotics and AI practical and seamless for real-world agricultural workflows. By joining forces, we can move faster, helping growers adopt transformative tools that support their operations and improve their bottom line.”
The combined team brings together deep expertise in agriculture, robotics, artificial intelligence, and engineering. Notable additions to the Bonsai team include John Teeple, former director of technology at John Deere, as Chief Operating Officer, and Gary Bradski, a pioneer in computer vision and founder of OpenCV, as Chief Science Officer.
Ugur Oezdemir, co-founder and CTO of Bonsai, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition: “We are excited to be able to bring together an industry leading team of engineers to address the very difficult task of integrating hardware, compute and perception necessary to accommodate the unpredictability of real-world farming. With this acquisition we are able to develop a unified platform that is complementary to our OEM partners and capable of addressing the variability across form factors, crop types, and geographies to deliver effective and reliable autonomy in the field.”
The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but existing shareholders of both companies will retain ownership stakes in the newly combined entity, Bonsai Robotics. This strategic move is poised to set new standards in agtech, driving innovation and efficiency in the agricultural sector.