Jun 9, 2022
Monarch Tractor Brings AI & AgTech to Farming w/ Praveen Penmetsa
- BRT S03 EP23 (122) 6-5-2022
Things We Learned This Week
Guest: Praveen Penmetsa - CEO of Monarch Tractor
https://www.linkedin.com/in/praveenpenmetsa
https://www.monarchtractor.com/leadership.html
Praveen Penmetsa has nearly two decades of hands-on experience in translating creative visions into products for startups to Fortune 50 companies alike. He co-currently serves as founder and CEO of Motivo Engineering, a product-engineering firm with clients in the Mobility, Energy, AgTech, and Aerospace sectors. Praveen holds an MSME in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
Monarch Tractor: Working Toward a Future With Clean Farming
Labor shortages, climate change, and food safety concerns create a multitude of challenges for farmers. Monarch Tractor provides a farmer-first approach to innovation, making each decision with our end user and their biggest challenges in mind. Our dedication to solutions for the farmer also means healthier solutions for the planet, for the consumer, and for the global food ecosystem.
Co-Founders:
Mark Schwager, Pres./Co-Founder -Former Gigafactory head & Tesla veteran 2010 – 2015 at Tesla, build volume at scale, to be reliable and robust
Carlo Mondavi, Chief Farming Officer / Co-Founder - Family farms in winery biz
Dr. Mark Omohundro, CTO / Co-Founder - farming, AI & autonomous
https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/17/autonomous-tractor-maker-monarch-raises-61-million/
Way back in March, autonomous tractor maker Monarch announced a $20 million Series A. Now, a mere eight months later, the company is tripling the round, with a $61 million Series B. This latest raise is led by sustainable food fund Astanor Ventures, with participation from CNH Industrial, At One Ventures and Trimble Ventures.
Notes:
Praveen – 2 decades in the auto industry and worked in EV cars.
Circa 2015 – Farmers asked about AI & EV
Farming – labor struggles, sustainability data
Next generation tractor solves problems
Farming setup – big farms with big commodity crops
Specialty crops – fruits, veggies
Hundreds to thousands of acres
Need 3x labor for organic, Spray more with different pesticides
Agriculture – low margins, intensive work
Global problem for labor
Skilled labor needed for tractor drivers, pays well but hard to find workers
Seasonal – when can grow crops
Food ecosystem –
Technology – data and AI, automation in farming now
Compact tractor – specialty
Tractor powers an implement – mower, sprayer, harvester
Data and real time updates – visuals / cameras
3 years field testing – field trials with customers. Learn new info, capture data and adjust. , ETA of Q4 2022 roll out to public, have pre-orders
Fleet operators – 1 person manage fleet of 6-7 tractors
Battery – 10+ hours and 4.5 hours to charge
No DC fast charging – tractor design – 220 volt can charge
Battery swap capability – mobile swap cart in 10 minutes in field
$50K to $68 K cost with options
Get diesel and labor savings of $20 K/yr. , 20-30% savings diesel, 70% labor savings
ROI and CAPEX analyze = 2 yrs ROI on cost of tractor, Tractor lasts 4-8 yrs
Sensors in roof – upgrade roof with sensors or battery AI, geo tracking, GPS in future
Data to farmer in the field – Train fast to learn tech and alerts w/ App on phone or tablet
Monarch website can give all data to farmers
Base station on farm for wifi and radio beacon to connect to Tractors onsite
Safety – No diesel, less CO2, No rider – AI, no chemicals
Dangerous implements connected to tractor, Sensors for collision, roll-over. OSHA worker safety
Insurance – possible future savings, Safer to remove driver from operation
Controlled environment – no people walking around in field
Tractor stops when people are detected
Co-Founders of Monarch Tractor – different backgrounds
Staff of 200
Future tractor models will be bigger
Investors in Monarch - Tractor companies, C&H, Industrial
Trimble – data and farm management is an investor
Auto suppliers and manufacturers to scale to hundred of thousands of units
License agreement –
Astanor – European investor
Silicon Valley investors
Long Term
4 Quadrant farming – manage land better with Monarch Tractor to make most of seasonal harvest, Multi use / multi purpose tool for different crops
Data saved – crop apps, plus Field mapping
Demos – digital and on site demos of Tractor for farmers
Tech hires – farming employments and workers will involve with need for CTO type hire
Tech Topic:
https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Tech-Startup-VC-Cybersecurity-Energy-Science
Best of Tech:
https://brt-show.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=best+of+tech
Investing Topic:
https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Investing-Stocks-Bonds-Retirement
‘Best Of’ Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+of+BRT
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