AUGMENTA: The story behind the acquisition
Recently, CNH acquired Augmenta – a start-up who have developed some exciting ‘Sense & Act’ technology.
The tech in question is a multispectral camera and advanced AI engine that sees what is happening in front of a tractor or sprayer and adjusts the implement behind accordingly. It enables machines to precisely direct and control spraying and spreading volume in real time.
Chad Biegler, Global Business Owner, Raven
For our customers, that means increased productivity and sustainability during two of the most critical stages of the crop cycle, and reduced input cost.
And for us, it’s an opportunity to further level-up our tech stack.
Augmenta are currently being integrated into Raven – our digital agriculture and precision technology brand. And the team over in Sioux Falls are excited to have them on-board:
“They are going to help us go deeper, further and faster,” says Chad Biegler, Global Business Owner, Raven. “With them, we’re rapidly advancing solutions towards our ‘Sense & Act’ portfolio.”
Augmenta have innovated in the ‘Sense & Act’ space. Whilst other products on the market offer high-investment solutions for specific crops, Augmenta’s system is flexible and cost-effective. It can be used easily by our customers operating in a variety of environments across the world.
And, as Chad stresses, it’s going to improve our customers’ use of the cloud. That’s because the data captured by Augmenta’s camera during each operation can be stored, understood and then used to impact future efforts out in the field.
A tale of teamwork and perseverance
Augmenta began when George Varvarelis and Jim Evangelopoulos were at university together in Greece. Both engineers – and both with farming in their blood – they felt they could apply sensor technology to their country’s agriculture industry. It was an opportunity to produce an interesting research paper. So, the experiments began… and so did the challenges.
The sensors were not working well enough. So, inspired by innovators in the automotive sector such as Tesla, the duo built a system using cameras. This was to be a landmark decision.
In the following tests – undertaken on Jim’s family farm – they found that their successful results were repeatable. It was then that they decided to start a company.
Augmenta’s early days…
Jim Evangelopoulos, Augmenta Co-Founder and Director of Customer Success at Raven
“We sat down and said this is exciting. It's so good for the environment. It's so good for the farmers. It's so good for food-buying customers. Let’s do this as a business,” says Jim.
With the help of some new team members, they created a product and deployed it across the world. They traveled, watched its performance in the field, and took onboard all the successes and – more importantly – the failures.
What came next was a trip to Agritechnica in 2019. There, they first encountered CNH. From then, the relationship between companies developed until CNH Industrial Ventures made a minority investment in 2021.
“Since 2021, it’s been a story of growth, with more successes than failures,” says George.
Now, following the acquisition George is Director of Engineering and Jim is Director of Customer Success at Raven.
George Varvarelis, Augmenta Co-Founder and Director of Engineering at Raven
“Since 2021, it’s been a story of growth, with more successes than failures.”
…And Augmenta’s facilities now
The perfect fit
Like Raven, Augmenta are passionate about finding the best solutions for customers. By joining CNH, they now can reach them faster. “With this integration, we can impact this industry much more and in a much shorter amount of time,” Jim says.
Both companies are confident that innovation comes from a culture where people feel valued too.
“Augmenta created an extraordinary workplace, inspiring them to create innovative products. The culture is the same at Raven. It’s been exciting to watch both teams mesh so well from the start, and we look forward to growing together,” adds Chad.
Just the beginning
Beyond bringing new benefits to farmers, George and Jim hope that Augmenta can attract the best Greek engineers working for prestigious companies abroad and bring them back to their home country. They also believe that they can draw more expertise towards AgTech, which remains a developing field in Greece.
To support this talent, they will maintain an office in Greece. And with the help of CNH – as Jim puts it – become “an important beacon of deep tech” for the country and the CNH organization.
As for Raven, Chad is clear that this really is just the beginning of the journey: “One, we are extremely excited to have this team on board. Two, we have been extremely impressed by their intellect. Three, we're going to keep investing in this space.”
