- Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. has agreed to acquire New Zealand- based startup Robotics Plus, which specializes in agricultural automation solutions.
Prior to this, Yamaha Motor purchased assets from The Yield Technology Solutions (hereafter, “The Yield”), an Australian startup providing digital agricultural solutions, and transferred those assets to a newly established subsidiary, Yamaha Agriculture Australia Pty Ltd.
Furthermore, these two subsidiaries will be overseen by a new U.S.-based company, Yamaha Agriculture, Inc. Through this series of strategic moves, Yamaha Motor will develop and deliver automation and digital transformation solutions that enable precision agriculture, and aim to contribute to the realization of sustainable as well as profitable farming practices.
Robotics Plus specialises in developing automation solutions for agriculture by leveraging its
expertise in robotics, automation, sensing and data analytics.
The company has a successful track record, developing Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) equipped with capabilities such as spraying and weed control. Robotics Plus has also developed groundbreaking systems like automated fruit packing machines and robotic systems to automate log measurement.
Since 2017, Yamaha Motor has been investing in Robotics Plus to advance the development of agricultural automation technologies and to expand its presence in the agtech sector.
The Yield is a company that leverages advanced data analytics and AI to provide solutions that optimize both on and off-farm operations, including yield prediction and supporting critical decisions like harvest and spray timing. In 2021, Yamaha Motor signed a joint development agreement with The Yield to advance smart agriculture.
Collaborative development efforts have focused on integrating data collection/utilization with robotics to drive smart agriculture innovations.
Yamaha Agriculture will combine robotic solutions with advanced data analytics to support producers of wine grapes, apples, and other specialty crops across North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
By leveraging these technologies, the company helps growers reduce input costs, optimize resource utilization, and enhance productivity and sustainability. Yamaha Agriculture completed its company registration in April 2024 and began partial operations in July later that year.
Yamaha Motor’s Long-Term Vision for 2030 is ART for Human Possibilities, with the goal of “Advance the use of Robotics, Rethink Solution, Transform Mobility.” As part of this vision, Yamaha Motor has positioned agriculture as a strategic new business field and is fortifying operations toward making it a future core business and aiming for greater growth through demand creation. The acquisitions of these two companies and the launch of a new one are integral steps in achieving this objective.
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