Sabanto has closed an oversubscribed Series B funding round led by Leaps by Bayer, with the agricultural autonomy company targeting hundreds of new farms over the next 12 months. Sustainable Forward Capital, InnoVenture Iowa, Fulcrum Global Capital, DCVC, and Yara also joined the round; Sabanto did not disclose the total amount raised. The Ames, Iowa-based company converts existing tractors into autonomous machines through a retrofit kit rather than requiring growers to buy new equipment. Leaps by Bayer, the strategic investment unit of Bayer that led the round, has invested more than $2.1 billion across over 65 companies working on emerging health and agriculture technology.
Highlights
- Sabanto closed an oversubscribed Series B led by Leaps by Bayer, with Sustainable Forward Capital, InnoVenture Iowa, Fulcrum Global Capital, DCVC, and Yara also participating; the round’s size was not disclosed.
- The company is targeting expansion to hundreds of new farms over the next 12 months.
- Sabanto’s Retrofit Autonomy Kit converts off-the-shelf tractors into autonomous machines in a single day, using a cloud-connected communications system, multiple GNSS receivers, and an onboard AI processing unit.
- Leaps by Bayer has invested more than $2.1 billion across over 65 companies in health and agriculture technology.
Retrofit Kits Target Rising Equipment Costs
Sabanto’s push for scale comes as growers face tighter margins from rising equipment and input costs, ongoing labor shortages, and pressure to maximize productivity. While major equipment manufacturers have generally moved toward larger, more expensive machines, Sabanto’s retrofit platform is built around existing, smaller-horsepower equipment as a lower-capital path to profitability.
The company’s autonomy system lets tractors run field operations at any hour, reducing growers’ dependence on seasonal labor and freeing up skilled workers for logistics, agronomic decision-making, and other higher-value tasks.
“This investment represents a major step forward in bringing practical autonomy to more farms,” said Craig Rupp, CEO and founder of Sabanto. “We believe the workhorse of the future is smaller equipment. Our retrofit approach allows farmers to shift labor toward higher-value tasks, increase operating hours, and ultimately focus on growing their business and their bottom line. We’re seeing too many farms fold under economic pressure and our solution levels the playing field.”
Funding Backs Dealer Growth and Software Development
Sabanto says the new capital will go toward:
- Commercialization and dealer network growth
- Retrofit kit production and deployment
- Software and autonomy platform development
- Customer support and field operations
- Adoption within the row crop market
The company recently extended its autonomous functionality into planting operations, letting growers run equipment around the clock during planting windows. New integrations with Precision Planting® and DICKEY-john® monitoring systems are aimed at improving compatibility with precision agriculture systems many growers already use.
Lighter Equipment, a Sustainability Pitch to Bayer
The round also lines up with Bayer’s stated sustainability goals around land and resource use. Sabanto says its retrofit model, built on smaller and lighter equipment than traditional machinery, can help reduce soil compaction and support long-term field health. The company also says autonomous operation can cut overlaps and idle time and improve route consistency, which it says lowers fuel consumption during field work.
Sabanto’s platform is designed to pair with precision-agriculture implements to manage fertilizer application, seed placement, and spraying — what the company describes as “physical AI” enabling coordinated, or “swarm,” operation across multiple machines. Combined with these systems, Sabanto says growers can reduce input waste and lower cost per acre.
“Farmers today need solutions that improve efficiency without requiring massive capital expenditures,” said Paimun Amini, VP of Agriculture Venture Investments at Leaps by Bayer. “Sabanto’s retrofit model offers a scalable and practical pathway to autonomy, especially in today’s challenging farm economy. We believe this technology offers options that can reshape how labor and equipment are utilized in row crop farming and beyond while also supporting more sustainable farming practices.”
Sabanto’s approach sits alongside a broader wave of retrofit and off-road autonomy investment, including Carbon Robotics’ AutoTractor and platforms built for off-road autonomy across agriculture and other industrial sectors.
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