Sabanto

Sabanto is a United States agricultural technology company based in Ames, Iowa, positioned as a market leader in autonomous tractor retrofit technology. Rather than selling new autonomous machines, Sabanto builds retrofit kits and software that bring autonomy to equipment producers already own, which lowers the capital expenditure barrier to adopting autonomous field operations. The company describes its approach as affordable, versatile and brand-agnostic, allowing farmers to reduce labor demands and maximize equipment efficiency without replacing their fleets. Sabanto's technology stack centers on two proprietary software layers: a Vehicle Operating System and Vehicle Mission Control. Together these support autonomous execution of field missions on retrofitted tractors. The company is led by founder and CEO Craig Rupp, who has publicly framed the challenge in agtech as one of commercialization and scale rather than technology alone, arguing that getting working technology into farmers' hands is the harder half of the problem. Sabanto has raised venture funding, most recently closing an oversubscribed Series B round led by Leaps by Bayer, with participation from Sustainable Forward Capital, InnoVenture Iowa, Fulcrum Global Capital, DCVC Bio and Yara. The company has said the new capital will accelerate its mission of making agricultural autonomy more accessible, and will support expansion of manufacturing and deployment capabilities, growth of its engineering and commercial teams, and continued investment in its proprietary software. In October 2026, Sabanto appointed John M. Raines to its board of directors. Raines was described as bringing more than three decades of executive leadership in agriculture and technology commercialization, and the appointment followed the Series B close. Sabanto remains a privately held, venture-backed company operating in the U.S. agricultural market.

Sabanto was founded by Craig Rupp, who serves as the company's chief executive. From its base in Ames, Iowa, the company built its business around a specific thesis in agricultural automation: that the fastest route to autonomy on the farm is not replacing tractors but retrofitting the ones farmers already own. That choice shaped both the product line and the company's market positioning as a provider of affordable, versatile, brand-agnostic retrofit technology. Sabanto developed a proprietary software stack consisting of a Vehicle Operating System and Vehicle Mission Control, which together allow retrofitted machines to carry out autonomous field missions. By keeping the hardware approach brand-agnostic, Sabanto positioned itself to serve producers across equipment brands rather than tying its fortunes to a single OEM. The company attracted venture backing from a mix of agricultural, strategic and financial investors. Its most recent financing was an oversubscribed Series B round led by Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm associated with Bayer, with participation from Sustainable Forward Capital, InnoVenture Iowa, Fulcrum Global Capital, DCVC Bio and Yara. Sabanto stated that the capital would accelerate its mission of making agricultural autonomy more accessible, and would fund expansion of manufacturing and deployment capabilities, growth of its engineering and commercial teams, and continued investment in its proprietary software. In October 2026, Sabanto announced the appointment of John M. Raines to its board of directors. Raines was described as bringing more than three decades of executive leadership in agriculture and technology commercialization. Commenting on the appointment, founder and CEO Craig Rupp said that agtech is full of innovative technology that never became a great business, that building the technology is only half the battle, and that Raines has actually succeeded at getting technology into farmers' hands and scaling it. The appointment followed the Series B close and signaled a push toward commercialization and deployment at scale.

• Closes an oversubscribed Series B funding round led by Leaps by Bayer, with participation from Sustainable Forward Capital, InnoVenture Iowa, Fulcrum Global Capital, DCVC Bio and Yara.

• Appoints John M. Raines to its board of directors.

Affordable, versatile, brand-agnostic retrofit autonomy that lets producers automate the equipment they already own, lowering the capex barrier to agricultural autonomy.

• Autonomous tractor retrofit technology

  Brand-agnostic retrofit kits that bring autonomy to equipment producers already own, lowering the capital expenditure barrier to adoption.

• Vehicle Operating System

  Proprietary software layer underpinning Sabanto's autonomous retrofit platform.

• Vehicle Mission Control

  Proprietary mission-control software for directing autonomous field operations.

• Unconfirmed

  Sabanto appoints John M. Raines to its board of directors[1]Sabanto appoints Raines to its board of directors - High Plains Journalhpj.com

  Reported: 2026-10-10

  Sabanto, an autonomous tractor retrofit technology company based in Ames, Iowa, appointed John M. Raines to its board of directors. The appointment follows the company's recent close of an oversubscribed Series B funding round led by Leaps by Bayer. Raines brings more than three decades of executive leadership in agriculture and technology commercialization, including roles at TELUS Digital Agriculture & Consumer Goods, The Climate Corporation and Monsanto.

• 2026-08-26

  Sabanto appoints John M. Raines to its Board of Directors[2]Sabanto任命John M. Raines为董事会成员prnewswire.com

  Reported: 2026-08-26

  Sabanto, an autonomous tractor retrofit technology company, announced the appointment of agriculture technology veteran John M. Raines to its Board of Directors, following the close of its oversubscribed Series B funding round.

1. 1Sabanto appoints Raines to its board of directors - High Plains Journalhpj.com
2. 2Sabanto任命John M. Raines为董事会成员prnewswire.com