The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies Bear Flag Robotics: 1 model, 1 deployment across 1 region, $250.0M raised. 2 sources back the record.
CategoryAgricultural robots
Overview
Bear Flag Robotics is a Newark, CA-based autonomous tractor startup founded by Igino Cafiero (CEO) and Aubrey Donnellan. The company developed autonomous driving technology for tractors and was acquired by John Deere in August 2021 for $250 million. Bear Flag operates as an independent subsidiary within Deere, advancing autonomous farming technology.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 1 deployment on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundOther post-money
Key facts
Co-founders
Acquired by
Product
Co-Founder
Data & sources
News coverage
1
Web sources
1
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Bear Flag Robotics on the deployment map
View the global map1 verified deployment across 1 region, newest verified Jan 2020. Explore where Bear Flag Robotics's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Bear Flag Robotics deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Igino Cafiero Co-Founder & CEOreported, not verified
Founders (1)
- Igino Cafierocofounder
Safety record
No incidents on record for Bear Flag Robotics.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Bear Flag Robotics1 deployment
Recent coverage
Bear Flag Robotics in third-party press
Peer companies
- DJI7 models
- Naio Technologies4 models
- WORX Landroid4 models
- Carbon Robotics3 models
- Solinftec3 models
- AgriPass2 models
Financial state
- Total funding
- $250.0M
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- acquired
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (1)
- Other2021-08-01
$250M(reported) · $1.3B post
Investors: John Deere
Acquisitions (1)
- acquired by John Deerefull acquisition2021-08-05
Timeline
Every recorded move in Bear Flag Robotics’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Acquired byAcquired
2021-08-05Acquired
Funding roundOther funding round
2021-08-01Other raising $250000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 11, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 1, 2020
Bear Flag autonomous tractor retrofit at Salinas
Sources (2)
- John Deere Acquires Bear Flag Robotics to Accelerate Autonomous Technology on the Farm · https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-deere-acquires-bear-flag-robotics-to-accelerate-autonomous-technology-on-the-farm-301349496.html · 2021-08-05
- John Deere buys autonomous tractor startup Bear Flag Robotics · https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/05/john-deere-buys-autonomous-tractor-startup-bear-flag-robotics/ · 2021-08-05
Common questions
What is Bear Flag Robotics?
What does Bear Flag Robotics make?
Is Bear Flag Robotics publicly traded?
Who competes with Bear Flag Robotics?
Who is the CEO of Bear Flag Robotics?
How can I invest in Bear Flag Robotics?
Where is Bear Flag Robotics headquartered?
How much funding has Bear Flag Robotics raised?
Who owns Bear Flag Robotics?
Where does Bear Flag Robotics operate robots?
How many robots has Bear Flag Robotics deployed?
Is Bear Flag Robotics a top robotics company?
When was Bear Flag Robotics founded?
Is Bear Flag Robotics safe?
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Bear Flag Robotics.Peer companies
- DJI7 models
- Naio Technologies4 models
- WORX Landroid4 models
- Carbon Robotics3 models
- Solinftec3 models
- AgriPass2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Bear Flag Robotics from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
John Deere Acquires Bear Flag Robotics to Accelerate Autonomous Technology on the Farm
John Deere acquired Bear Flag Robotics, founded by Igino Cafiero and Aubrey Donnellan, for 50M to accelerate autonomous farming technology.
John Deere acquiring Bear Flag Robotics for $250M
John Deere announced the acquisition of Bear Flag Robotics, a developer of autonomous tractor technology, for $250 million to accelerate autonomous farming.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/bear-flag-robotics.md
- RSS feed: /companies/bear-flag-robotics/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/c6deed28-76f1-4b41-9ddb-a20b9b5b1629
- Revision history: /companies/bear-flag-robotics/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- DJI7 models
- Naio Technologies4 models
- WORX Landroid4 models
- Carbon Robotics3 models
- Solinftec3 models
- AgriPass2 models
Video
Silicon Valley-based agriculture tech startup Bear Flag Robotics developed an autonomous tractor that doesn't require a person in the cab. It plans to go to mar
Bear Flag Robotics, a developer of autonomous driving technology for tractors, is being acquired by John Deere for $250 million.
Bear Flag Robotics kit install on a John Deere 8RT running the number of different tillage tasks. Safe, productive and efficient farming operations for the nex
Here at Bear Flag, we're a mission-driven company. Every day, we work to increase global food production while decreasing the cost of growing food through machi
Daniel Carmichael, Farming Operations Manager with Bear Flag Robotics, joins host Tony Kramer to talk about the company, the AI technology available today, and
Deere and Company is acquiring Bear Flag Robotics, a startup that develops autonomous driving technology compatible with existing machines. Deere is paying $250
#agdealer #agdealertv #bearflagrobotics #johndeerebearflag Farm equipment autonomy got a recent boost with the announcement that John Deere was partnering with
Bear Flag Robotics is a company that retrofits current tractors with unique artificial intelligence technologies. They assist farms in growing by fitting tracto
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Bear Flag Robotics draws attention at the 46th percentile but verifies reality at the 1st percentile among ag robots. Hype Gap +44.9, 7th widest among ag robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 1 verified deployment. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 10, 2026