CNH Industrial, the parent company of agriculture equipment maker New Holland, and Bluewhite, the AI-driven autonomous farming technology startup, announced today a partnership on the distribution, manufacturing, and integration of Bluewhite’s autonomous solutions to enable New Holland tractors to operate fully autonomously in orchards, vineyards, and other specialty-crop operations. Building on CNH’s acquisitions of Raven, Augmenta, and Hemisphere that are driving New Holland’s autonomy offerings for row-crop and broad-acre farmers, Bluewhite’s technology will help New Holland customers address immediate challenges such as labor shortages and rising operational costs in the specialty-crop market.

“Bluewhite has proven to be the leader in terms of implementing autonomy in the specialty crops space, a market in great demand for this type of innovation,” said Carlo Lambro, Brand President of New Holland. “The integration of Bluewhite into our technology stack allows our customers to access much-needed autonomous technology in an attainable aftermarket solution.”

Depending on the specific use case, Bluewhite technology is said to have proven to reduce operational costs by up to 85% through a combination of savings in inputs, labor, and maintenance costs.

This strategic partnership includes a three-phase, multi-year initiative that advances the development and integration of Bluewhite technology across the New Holland portfolio. Beginning immediately, select New Holland dealers in the western U.S. have the rights to sell, distribute, and service Bluewhite’s aftermarket kits for existing New Holland tractors. Order writing will begin this summer, with future regional and global expansion to ensure broader New Holland customer access. In addition, New Holland and Bluewhite are also exploring future possibilities for factory-installed solutions.

“With this tech, we’re not only helping address the financial aspect of an operation by freeing up an operator to tackle other tasks; we’re alleviating some of the biggest pain points growers contend with every day that slows them down during the most critical times in the growing season,” said Paul Welbig, Precision Product Marketing Director for New Holland Agriculture North America. “When a grower is hard-pressed to secure labor or schedules don’t align, a difference in hours or a day can significantly set an operation back financially and agronomically. This technology brings relief to those situations.”

Founded in 2017 by CEO Ben Alfi, COO Yair Shahar, and former CTO Aviram Shmueli, Bluewhite, formerly known as Blue White Robotics, is headquartered in Tel Aviv with an office in Fresno, CA. The company leverages AI, sensor fusion, advanced vehicle integration, and precision implement control to help growers manage their fleets and data to ultimately “produce more with less.” It works with over 20 leading permanent crop growers, enabling autonomous farming on multiple crops and tractor models across 150,000 acres in the U.S.

“Our long-term partnership with CNH and New Holland, combining leading autonomous technology with the best tractors and harvesters in the orchards and vineyards sector, is a milestone in achieving our mission of making cutting-edge innovation accessible to the agriculture sector,” said Alfi.

The global market for autonomous tractors is expected to reach $11.5 billion by 2030, according to Allied Market Research, as growers face increased pressure to produce more with fewer resources amid challenges including labor shortages, rising operational costs, global population growth, and environmental changes. While autonomous farming solutions can alleviate these issues, successful implementation and scale have largely remained problematic and elusive, according to Bluewhite. The company says that its autonomous farming solution is breaking down these barriers by equipping existing fleets with proprietary autonomous technology and a user-friendly experience to provide growers with data-driven insights to better manage their farms to increase yields and profitability.

In January, Bluewhite announced that it secured $39 million in Series C financing led by Insight Partners, with participation from new investors such as Alumni Ventures and LIP Ventures as well as existing investors Entrée Capital, Jesselson, and Peregrine Ventures. The agricultural RaaS (robot-as-a-service) company is using the funds to further scale its agricultural autonomous tractor and farming solutions and expand into new global markets.

Bluewhite combines hardware and software into a single solution for remote fleet and data management for the cultivation of permanent crops such as wine grapes, citrus, nuts, apples, and berries.

The company’s Pathfinder hardware product is retrofitted onto any tractor and leverages lidar, computer vision, AI, and smart implements integration to navigate and execute multiple tasks autonomously, from crop seeding and spraying to mowing and harvesting, even in challenging conditions. It intelligently adapts to the unique contours and conditions of each field, ensuring that every operation—from soil preparation to pest control—is executed with attention to detail. The level of precision minimizes overlap and waste, optimizing the use of inputs and contributing to a more sustainable farming practice.

Bluewhite’s system relies on lidar to see much more than humans, the 360-degree system having a high frame rate to see the entire surroundings and to understand distances and realization of objects.

“As the tractor is driving down the row, the system is able to make real-time decisions utilizing the lidar, which is very unique to what we are doing at Bluewhite,” said Luke Hemphill, Bluewhite Director of Partnerships. “When we were looking for our partner for our main sensor, we wanted a company that was going to be flexible and essentially be a design partner with us, and we found that Ouster was that partner. As our tractors are working with different types of crops, they’ve been able to help customize these products to be able to recognize specific aspects of these crops. We utilize the lidar to not only detect objects that might be in its path but also to ensure that there actually is a tree there.”

The company’s SaaS (software-as-a-service) solution, a management and data platform called Compass, collects data from the field and provides analysis using AI algorithms, real-time dashboards, reports, and insights to ensure maximum efficiency across farm operations on any device. Its connectivity not only facilitates immediate adjustments to enhance efficiency but also generates insights that can inform future farming decisions, paving the way for continuous improvement and innovation in crop management.

A key solution from the hardware and software combination is BlueSpray technology for the precise application of crop treatments, which is particularly crucial in the management of vineyards, orchards, and fields where nuts and wine grapes are grown. Offering a solution that ensures the health and vigor of these permanent crops, farmers can target specific areas or plants that require treatment, drastically reducing the volume of chemicals used.

It mitigates the risk of over-application, a common issue that can lead to runoff, potentially harming surrounding ecosystems. The targeted approach not only curtails the expenditure on pesticides and herbicides but also significantly diminishes the environmental footprint of farming practices, aligning with the growing imperative for sustainability in agriculture.

“The future of agriculture in my mind is you’ve got a central hub and a totally connected farm where every aspect from planting seeds to planting trees to your spray and your sanitation operations all the way through harvest is all done remotely,” concluded Hemphill. “If you’ve got all the machines in your farm talking to each other and working together, you’re getting more done, you’re saving more of the money that you’re working so hard for, and you are cementing a foundation for the supply chain as we go forward.”