John May has spent nearly his entire career at John Deere, becoming CEO in 2019. He launched the 'Smart Industrial' strategy to transform the 190-year-old equipment maker into a technology company focused on autonomy, AI, and precision agriculture.
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John Deere is transforming from a mechanical equipment maker into a technology company using computer vision and AI to enable fully autonomous farming by 2030, starting with the US corn production system, reducing herbicide use by 60% and nitrogen costs by two-thirds while shifting to recurring revenue models.
Deere acquired computer vision and AI startup Blue River Technology early in May's CEO tenure to jumpstart its autonomy technology stack, which now powers weed detection, precision spraying, and planting across equipment platforms.