Italian-American heavy machinery manufacturer CNH Industrial has purchased machine vision company Augmenta to accelerate the growth of its innovative Sense & Act technology. As per a company statement, CNH Industrial will acquire Augmenta Holding SAS at an enterprise value of US$110 million, subject to customary adjustments. Augmenta was a previous CNH Industrial Ventures investment and a strategic partner for CNH Industrial.
“Our work with Augmenta has brought increasing benefits to our customers’ operations. What began as a minority investment in their potential, now culminates in our adding this proven technical excellence directly to our sprayer offering,” said Derek Neilson, President Agriculture, at CNH Industrial. “This is an important development for our agriculture business that will further support our dealers by differentiating our equipment through value-added technology.”
CNH Industrial held an existing 10.5 percent minority stake in the business prior to the announced transaction, which will be funded with available cash on hand. Closing is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2023, subject to the satisfactory completion of customary closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.
“Augmenta’s technology will expedite the development of our broader ‘Sense & Act’ capabilities to create value for our customers,” said Parag Garg, Chief Digital Product Officer, CNH Industrial. Sense & Act tasks are based on sensor-detected data during the spraying process, wherein protection solutions are applied to crops both before and after harvest. This technology gives machines selective spraying capabilities which precisely direct and regulate the spray volume.
Augmenta’s work in this area includes the development of a multispectral camera and software that monitors a machine’s operating environment and acts directly via the machine. This increases yield for the customers, boosts sustainability by eliminating unnecessary chemical and fertiliser usage, and most importantly reduces application time, effort, and input costs. Savings in herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, and fertilisers represent the largest value pool for this technology.
Augmenta will operate within the Raven brand, as a subset of the precision technology portfolio. It will maintain its existing employees and offices in Greece and the USA.