Regina, Sask. — Dot Technology Corp. (DOTTM) today announced that it has entered into an agreement wherein Raven Industries (NASDAQ:RAVN) — a manufacturer of agriculture technology with a focus on autonomous farming — will acquire majority ownership of Dot. Funds will be used to support the continued commercialization and evolution of the Dot Power Platform and Dot Ready Implements.

The two companies began working together in May 2018, when it was announced that the Dot Platform would be outfitted with Raven technology, including steering, guidance and propulsion.

“Raven has been a critical partner in helping to get Dot to where we are today,” said Norbert Beaujot, owner and founder of Dot Technology Corp. “Our combined technologies will undoubtedly help accelerate speed to market and adoption of machine autonomation.”

“Raven’s involvement means our ability to provide a path to autonomy for farmers and implement manufacturers is now much stronger,” said Robert Saik, CEO of Dot Technology Corp. Saik spoke of Raven Industries’ object recognition technology, perception technology, visual guidance technology and cloud services as strong areas of synergy between the two companies going forward.

Continued evolution of Dot in the areas of autonomous operation, safety and overall system enhancements with Dot Ready Implement partners are all key areas of focus. Dot autonomy aims to provide solutions to some key issues in agriculture, including labor shortages, high equipment cost and rising operational expenses.

For OEMs, Saik said that opportunities are coming and specifically emphasized shortliners, saying, “For shortline implement manufacturers, Dot is an open, U-shaped platform. We’re open to talking to shortliners and OEMs about integrating their equipment into the Dot platform.”

The transaction is expected to close in November 2019.