# Deere & Co

Deere & Co is a Manufacturing & Retail based in Moline, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Manufacturing & Retail
- **Headquarters:** Moline, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Moline, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 1837
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** deere.com

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Deere & Co traces its origins to John Deere's 1837 steel plow invention in Grand Detour, Illinois. The company, headquartered in Moline, has been publicly traded since 1925 and is led by Chairman and CEO John C. May since 2019. The firm invests through its Venture Capital arm, Deere & Co Venture Capital, targeting early-stage startups in precision agriculture, robotics, and AI/ML. Known portfolio companies include Blue River Technology (acquired in 2017 for $305M), an AI-driven weed-control startup, and Bear Flag Robotics (acquired in 2021), an autonomous tractor developer. Geographic focus is primarily North America, with additional offices in New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Menlo Park supporting venture and innovation activities. Deere reported $52.2B in net sales and revenue in fiscal 2024 (per the firm, November 2024). The company employs approximately 82,000 people globally. Philanthropic activities are managed through the John Deere Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) entity established in 1948. In fiscal 2024, Deere announced a restructuring plan to reduce costs by $2B by 2026, including job cuts affecting up to 2,000 workers (per Reuters, October 2024). Deere's structural differentiator is its integration of industrial manufacturing with a venture capital arm that seeds the same technologies it later acquires — a cycle that digitizes its core equipment line while protecting high-margin service revenue from subscription software and data analytics.

## Sectors

- AgriTech & FoodTech
- Industrial Tech
- Robotics & Automation

## Offices

- New York
- Palo Alto
- San Francisco
- Menlo Park

## People

- John Deere — Founder
- John C. May — Chairman & CEO

## Questions

### Is Deere & Co primarily a manufacturing firm or an investor?

Deere & Co is first a publicly-traded manufacturer of agricultural, construction, and forestry equipment. Its venture capital arm is a relatively small unit focused on strategic technology investments that align with product innovation, such as autonomous farming and precision spraying. It does not operate as a family office or institutional investor (per the firm).

### Which sectors does Deere & Co explicitly avoid?

Deere & Co Venture Capital avoids sectors such as consumer internet, healthcare, financial technology, and non-industrial software. It focuses strictly on agriculture, construction, forestry, mobility, and industrial automation (per public filings).

### How is Deere & Co related to the John Deere Foundation?

The John Deere Foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) charitable organization established by Deere & Co in 1948. It is funded by corporate contributions and operates independently of the firm's venture capital activities, focusing on education, community development, and agricultural sustainability programs (per the foundation's official communications).

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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