Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), the agricultural machinery manufacturer behind the John Deere brand, has acquired Saint Paul-based Sentera, a maker of drone cameras used by farmers.
Sentera is known for its cameras which, when mounted on a drone, greatly aid in data collection. This data can be used to create a weed map which identifies where weeds are growing in a farmer’s crops, as well as how much herbicide will be needed to eliminate the problem. The Saint Paul company also offers software that assesses plant and crop heath.
Founded in 2014, Sentera has been a successful agriculture technology startup for the last decade. In 2019, Sentera was on MinneInno’s list of top-funded Ag-Tech startups in Minnesota and in 2021, the company secured $25 million in VC funding.
The Saint Paul headquartered company has 50 U.S.-based employees, all of whom were extended offers to continue working as part of the acquisition.