Latest news with #electric tractors
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Data is Catching Pests And Revolutionizing Farming
Monarch CEO Praveen Penmetsa expects sales to triple or more this year as it gets its autonomous electric tractors in the hands of farmers, earning the Livermore, California-based company a coveted spot on our annual list of the Next Billion-Dollar Startups. But launching an agricultural equipment company is tough. It is capital-intensive, and cash-strapped farmers tend to be a conservative lot resistant to change. But Livermore-based Monarch, which has raised $116 million in equity from investors and reached a valuation of $271 million at its most recent equity funding in November 2021, seems to have hit a tipping point. Last year, it booked $22 million in revenue, up from $5 million in 2021. This year Penmetsa expects revenue to increase three- to fivefold. That would bring it above $66 million, and possibly over $100 million, as the number of its tractors in the field goes from more than 100 to 1,000. As it expands, Penmetsa expects that more of its revenue will come from software subscriptions (up to $8,376 per tractor per year) that give farmers real-time alerts about sick plants and safety risks, plus gathering and crunching a ton of data to improve crop yields.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Monarch Tractors won't be built by Foxconn after Ohio factory sale
Foxconn will no longer build electric tractors for California startup Monarch Tractor after the Taiwanese tech giant recently sold its Ohio factory to SoftBank. Monarch CEO Praveen Penmesta confirmed the news in a LinkedIn comment Tuesday. He also said his company worked with Foxconn to 'build up inventory' before the sale of the factory, noting his startup has 'enough to meet customer demand for the next 12 months, along with ample spare parts.' 'In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more about our plans to introduce more Monarch-enabled products in the market through new manufacturing partnerships,' Penmesta wrote. Following the sale, SoftBank is expected to work with Foxconn to use the factory to make equipment for the Stargate AI project led by OpenAI and Oracle. Foxconn purchased the former General Motors factory from EV startup Lordstown Motors in 2022. Young Liu, Foxconn's chairman, said prior to the sale closing that the facility was going to be the 'most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America.' Monarch was one of four companies Foxconn promoted as customers (or potential customers) of the electric vehicle contract manufacturing operation it tried to establish at the former General Motors factory. Foxconn built a few hundred tractors for Monarch at the plant, but the startup has struggled. Last year, it went through two rounds of layoffs and had to quickly pivot to new types of customers as California's wine industry crashed. The other three companies Foxconn wanted to build vehicles for have all filed for bankruptcy. While Foxconn made a handful of Lordstown Motors pickups at the plant, the startup went under in 2023. The other two prospective customers were Fisker Inc. and a small California startup called IndiEV. Foxconn never built any vehicles for those companies at the factory, and they have also both since gone out of business.
TechCrunch
6 days ago
- Automotive
- TechCrunch
Monarch Tractors won't be built by Foxconn after Ohio factory sale
Foxconn will no longer build electric tractors for California startup Monarch Tractor after the Taiwanese tech giant recently sold its Ohio factory to SoftBank. Monarch CEO Praveen Penmesta confirmed the news in a LinkedIn comment Tuesday. He also said his company worked with Foxconn to 'build up inventory' before the sale of the factory, noting his startup has 'enough to meet customer demand for the next 12 months, along with ample spare parts.' 'In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more about our plans to introduce more Monarch-enabled products in the market through new manufacturing partnerships,' Penmesta wrote. Following the sale, SoftBank is expected to work with Foxconn to use the factory to make equipment for the Stargate AI project led by OpenAI and Oracle. Foxconn purchased the former General Motors factory from EV startup Lordstown Motors in 2022. Young Liu, Foxconn's chairman, said prior to the sale closing that the facility was going to be the 'most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America.' Monarch was one of four companies Foxconn promoted as customers (or potential customers) of the electric vehicle contract manufacturing operation it tried to establish at the former General Motors factory. Foxconn built a few hundred tractors for Monarch at the plant, but the startup has struggled. Last year, it went through two rounds of layoffs and had to quickly pivot to new types of customers as California's wine industry crashed. The other three companies Foxconn wanted to build vehicles for have all filed for bankruptcy. While Foxconn made a handful of Lordstown Motors pickups at the plant, the startup went under in 2023. The other two prospective customers were Fisker Inc. and a small California startup called IndiEV. Foxconn never built any vehicles for those companies at the factory, and they have also both since gone out of business.
Forbes
11-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How This Company Is Helping Farmers Embrace Innovation
Monarch CEO Praveen Penmetsa expects sales to triple or more this year as it gets its autonomous electric tractors in the hands of farmers, earning the Livermore, California-based company a coveted spot on our annual list of the Next Billion-Dollar Startups. But launching an agricultural equipment company is tough. It is capital-intensive, and cash-strapped farmers tend to be a conservative lot resistant to change. But Livermore-based Monarch, which has raised $116 million in equity from investors and reached a valuation of $271 million at its most recent equity funding in November 2021, seems to have hit a tipping point. Last year, it booked $22 million in revenue, up from $5 million in 2021. This year Penmetsa expects revenue to increase three- to fivefold. That would bring it above $66 million, and possibly over $100 million, as the number of its tractors in the field goes from more than 100 to 1,000. As it expands, Penmetsa expects that more of its revenue will come from software subscriptions (up to $8,376 per tractor per year) that give farmers real-time alerts about sick plants and safety risks, plus gathering and crunching a ton of data to improve crop yields.
