Kubota invests in startup Agtonomy

Since 2024, Kubota has partnered with Agtonomy to work on commercializing smart solutions for specialty crops. With this investment, the companies will further accelerate collaboration.

California, Oregon, and Washington in the Western United States are major agricultural regions with the highest agricultural product sales in the U.S., actively producing specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, and nuts. However, in recent times, rising prices of agricultural materials, labor shortages, and increasing workforce expenses have led to a growing demand for sustainable and efficient agricultural practices, particularly in the areas of automation of farming operations, data-driven optimization, and improved labor efficiency.

Agtonomy is a U.S.-based startup specializing in physical AI-driven automation technology for specialty crop cultivation, serving growers across key agricultural regions, including California, Oregon, and Washington. Based on feedback from growers, Agtonomy is focused on improving the precision and productivity of farming tasks, driving technological innovation towards sustainable agriculture.

Kubota and Agtonomy began joint projects in 2024, which served as an opportunity to collaborate and advance the development of smart solutions for specialty crops using agricultural machinery equipped with automation technology. At CES 2026, one of the world’s largest technology exhibitions held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Kubota exhibited the autonomous M5 Narrow equipped with Agtonomy’s autonomous driving system, and has also achieved an early commercial deployment of Agtonomy’s services across the western United States through collaboration with Kubota’s agricultural machinery dealers.

Kubota intends to support Agtonomy’s business growth and accelerate the adoption of smart solutions in the agricultural sector through external partnerships.