Yamaha acquires Robotics Plus for precision agriculture push

Robotics Plus, a company specialising in agricultural automation solutions, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Yamaha Motor to form a new company focused on precision agriculture.

The acquisition will form the foundation of Yamaha Agriculture, Inc., based in the United States, aiming to provide autonomous equipment and AI-powered solutions to enhance the sustainability, profitability, and resilience of growers in the specialty crop market. Robotics Plus will continue its core operations in Tauranga, New Zealand, maintaining key skilled positions and intellectual property development.

Steve Saunders, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Robotics Plus, expressed confidence in the move, saying, "Robotics Plus was founded on a vision to develop state-of-the-art robotic technology to solve some of the global agriculture industry's biggest challenges, including labour, productivity and sustainability issues."

"This acquisition is a testament to the strong partnership we've built with Yamaha over the years, driven by a shared vision and commitment to empowering large-scale growers. Innovations like Prospr are at the heart of Yamaha Agriculture's global strategy, enabling a data-driven approach to precision agriculture. With Yamaha's support, we are poised to accelerate our robotics innovations, significantly scale our hardware manufacturing, and expand further into key markets such as the US, and beyond."

The acquisition is the latest development in a collaboration that dates back to 2017, when Yamaha Motor began investing in Robotics Plus. The companies aim to tackle the challenges posed by resource scarcity and climate change by integrating Robotics Plus' expertise in robotics, sensing, and data analytics.

Dr Alistair Scarfe, Co-founder and Chief Engineering Officer at Robotics Plus, added, "To drive meaningful change in agriculture, you need to think big and tackle globally scalable challenges. That mindset has allowed Robotics Plus to build a world-class team of specialists across agriculture, technology, and engineering - delivering best-in-class robotic solutions that are now deployed worldwide. Over the years, we've greatly benefited from Yamaha Motor's deep industry expertise, and we're excited to take our innovations even further with Yamaha Agriculture with a continued focus on quality, reliability, and safety."

The key innovation from Robotics Plus, a vehicle named Prospr, exemplifies the company's vision. It is an autonomous, multi-purpose hybrid vehicle capable of performing tasks such as spraying and weed control, with additional functionalities like mowing under development. This vehicle aims to mitigate labour shortages and optimise agricultural efficiency.

Yamaha Agriculture's commitment to data-driven decision making is further reinforced by its acquisition of The Yield, which offers advanced data analytics and AI-driven models designed to enhance yield predictions and farm operations. Nolan Paul, Group CEO of Yamaha Agriculture, Inc., stated, "Guided by our mission to ensure growers are sustainable, profitable, and resilient, Yamaha Agriculture recognises that the challenges facing specialty crop growers require thoughtful solutions that will take time to develop."

"We believe meaningful innovation in agriculture emerges through close collaboration with growers and industry partners. The capabilities of Robotics Plus in robotics and automation will be an important building block in addressing these challenges along with AI-powered data analytics. We are committed to a deliberate approach that prioritises creating real value for growers while maintaining the high standards of quality and reliability for which Yamaha Motors is known."

Yamaha Agriculture will integrate Robotics Plus's technologies with its own to develop a platform that supports producers of wine grapes, apples, and other specialty crops in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, leveraging Yamaha's manufacturing background to ensure product quality and performance. This offering aims to reduce growers' input costs, optimise resource usage, and elevate overall farm efficiency.

Steve Saunders reflected on the journey and future prospects of Robotics Plus: "Scale is the key to making technology more accessible and affordable for growers in New Zealand and beyond, so we were global from day one. Partnering early on with a global corporate that shared our vision allowed us to accelerate our expansion. The Robotics Plus team has shown it's possible to build a world-leading agritech business from New Zealand – that can successfully scale on a global level."