San Jose-based agtech start-up Bonsai Robotics acquired modular robot maker Farm-ng for an undisclosed amount of money, with the combined company building off the strengths of one another to create unique, tailored offerings for mixed fleet specialty crop growers.
The two companies complement each other’s expertise, since they occupy “opposite ends of the specialty crop spectrum,” Tyler Niday, CEO and co-founder of Bonsai Robotics, told AgTechNavigator. Bonsai focuses primarily on big tree crops, while Farm-ng has expertise in bedded crops and smaller environments, Niday added.
As part of the deal, Farm-ng CEO, Brendan Dowdle, will become the combined company’s chief business officer, and John Teeple, former director of technology at John Deere, and Gary Bradski, founder of OpenCV, will join the company as chief operating officer and chief science officer, respectively.
Additionally, the Farm-ng brand will cease to exist, with the combined company operating under Bonsai Robotics.
Bonsai’s current team is “staying laser focused on autonomous software,” as the company explores ways to bring Farm-ng functionality into the Bonsai platform, leveraging the robotics company’s knowledge of sensors and computing to improve integrations with original equipment manufacturers, Niday explained.
“Being able to build one big end-to-end model that can control all these environments really means it is a plug-and-play solution for whatever specialty crop we want to go after,” Niday elaborated.
He added, “With the Amiga platform, we really thought the modularized aspect, low-cost electric platform really enables this future where, if you could come in at a third of the cost of a tractor and do the same quality job of work, it is a huge win because there is a labor efficiency gain.”
Bonsai, Farm-ng make commercialization progress
Ahead of the acquisition, Bonsai and Farm-ng were making commercialization strides, with the combined company being supported by “multiple years of runway,” Niday noted.
Bonsai sold over 50 robots in its first year of deployment and closed its series A round with $15 million in funding, including investments from Acre Venture Partners, Cibus Capital, Congruent Ventures, Fall Line Capital, and Serra Ventures.
“When you show up looking like a Silicon Valley machine to a grower that gets 40 chances in their lifetime to perfect their crop, they do not want to take the risk. They want someone who knows ag. They want a machine that’s going to be reliable and trusted. So, I bet some consolidation will happen.”
Additionally, Farm-ng sold 230 of its Amiga robots since launching in 2020 and expects to increase sales by threefold in 2025, Dowdle shared with AgTechNavigator last month. Amiga robots typically cost between $20,000 and $25,000, depending on configuration and implements.
Is the ag robotics industry consolidating?
Bonsai’s acquisition of Farm-ng comes amid a changing ag robotics landscape. Earlier this year, Taylor Farms acquired robotics company FarmWise, following the start-up’s challenges with scaling and financial pressures, AgTechNavigator previously reported. This is despite FarmWise raising $65 million across several rounds of funding.
However, the ag robotics industry has “some shining players” with “multiple companies across 100 million in revenue,” Niday noted. While there is a clear market, the ag robotics industry must present solutions to farmers in a format that they are familiar with, he added.
“When you show up looking like a Silicon Valley machine to a grower that gets 40 chances in their lifetime to perfect their crop, they do not want to take the risk. They want someone who knows ag. They want a machine that’s going to be reliable and trusted. So, I bet some consolidation will happen,” Niday elaborated.
