Deere & Company Names Five Startups for 2026 Collaborator Program to Accelerate AI and AgTech Innovation

Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) announced the names of five companies chosen for its 2026 Startup Collaborator Program. The John Deere Startup Collaborator Program was launched in 2019 to enhance and deepen the company's interaction with startup companies whose technology could add value for ag, construction, and roadbuilding customers.

"Through the Startup Collaborator Program, we're working with startups whose technologies address critical challenges across the various industries we serve," said Wes Robinson, Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy. "From real‑time equipment and fleet insights to advanced sensing, AI‑driven robotics, and digital crop intelligence, these collaborations can help us move faster in delivering practical innovations that improve precision, productivity, and sustainability for our customers."

The companies participating in the 2026 Startup Collaborator include:

• AIRS ML – An edge AI company building on-device intelligence that fuses sensing and machine learning for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance of critical industrial and mobility assets.
  
  
• IoTag – Delivers a patented telematics solution that turns raw machine operating data into insights to optimize performance across mixed fleets for agricultural and construction customers.
  
  
• resonAg – An Australian agritech company specializing in adapting proven technologies from the medical, mining and oil and gas sectors to deliver advanced soil sensing systems for precision agriculture.
  
  
• TorqueAGI – Creating the AI foundation model that powers a new generation of enterprise robots capable of real-world reasoning and autonomy.
  
  
• Aerobotics – Helps the fruit industry make smarter, more sustainable farming decisions using drone and mobile imagery combined with industry-leading computer vision and AI. Their precision insights enable growers, packers, and shippers to accurately estimate yields and optimize operations.

"The startups in our eighth Collaborator cohort bring complementary technologies that span monitoring, sensing, AI, robotics, and data‑driven insights," said Colton Salyards, Principal, Corporate Development, John Deere. "Through close collaboration, we're able to explore how these innovations can translate into practical benefits for customers in agriculture and construction."