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Monarch Tractor Announces $133M Series C Funding – Marking Largest-Ever Raise in Agricultural Robotics

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With this latest raise, the company behind the world’s first fully electric, driver-optional, smart tractor cements its position as a leader in the space 

LIVERMORE, Calif., July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Monarch Tractor, creator of the MK-V, the world’s first fully electric, driver-optional smart tractor and Wingspan Ag Intelligence (WingspanAI) farm management platform, has today announced a history-making $133 million Series C, making it the largest funding raising round in agricultural robotics history.

Monarch has quickly become a powerhouse within the agricultural space as an off-road electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous vehicles (AV) category leader. To date, the company has raised over $220 million to enable clean, efficient, and economically viable solutions as well as expanded into various agricultural markets such as vineyards, dairy, berries, orchards, and land management across 12 states and three countries. Furthermore, in just the last two years alone they have been recognized as an influential force in farming at national and international levels via accolades, including Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups, CNBC Disruptor 50, TIME Best Inventions, and Fast Company World’s Most Innovative Companies.

The Series C funds will support the further development of Monarch’s cutting-edge AI product offering, expansion of their operational footprint domestically and globally, while enabling the company’s path to profitability.

Funding was co-led by global impact investor Astanor and HH-CTBC Partnership, L.P., with additional support from prominent investors, including At One Ventures, PMV and The Welvaartsfonds.

Monarch’s mission with farmer success at the center

Founded on the belief that food security only exists with planet sustainability and farmer profitability, Monarch has been at the forefront of the critical transition to renewably powered and more profitable farming ecosystems, which ultimately empowers farmers worldwide.

In the United States, farm profitability has steadily declined over the past decade, with the sharpest decline in industry history occurring in 2023. Given the nascent nature of technology in agriculture, the sector is ripe with untapped growth potential across automation, digital technologies and AI efficiencies, with Monarch at the forefront of this disruption and technological advancement.

“Driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification, agriculture has arrived as the next frontier for the energy transition and sustainability movement,” said Praveen Penmetsa, CEO and co-founder of Monarch Tractor. “Agriculture is our planet’s most important and overlooked sector, and those in the industry have faced significant challenges, including farm profitability, labor shortages, worker safety, government headwinds, data availability, and scrutiny for sustainability demands. Monarch’s application of AI and introduction of a smart, electric platform will deliver robust social, economic, and environmental returns to farmers.”

AI continues to revolutionize farming machinery

Tractors have been the center of all farm operations for several decades. Yet, they’ve been underutilized as a hub for robotics innovation and farmer payback.

In December 2022, Monarch released the world’s first fully electric, driver-optional, smart tractor, the MK-V, to combat profit challenges, address sustainability demands, and revive agriculture innovation. Since then, the deployment of more than 400 MK-V’s have helped; resulting in more than 850 tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions offset across 42,000 hours of tractor operations.

Monarch’s WingspanAI app is equipping farmers with unprecedented access to on-farm data, integrating a farm management system, vehicle position tracking, crop image collection, and automated operations planning into one platform. The continual development of product solutions, including the introduction of new AI capabilities, will be the driving force in closing the industry’s profit gap.

This funding round will support the expansion of Monarch’s digital solutions and AI applications, including the development of Autodrive, Monarch’s autonomous operations feature, for new global markets and crop sectors.

For more information on Monarch Tractor, visit: www.monarchtractor.com/

About Monarch Tractor

Monarch Tractor’s MK-V is the world’s first fully electric, driver-optional, smart tractor that combines electrification, automation, machine learning, and data analysis to enhance farmer’s existing operations, cut overhead costs, reduce emissions and increase labor productivity and safety. Monarch Tractor is committed to elevating farming practices to enable clean, efficient, and economically viable solutions for today’s farmers and the generations of farmers to come. Operating in more than five continents, Monarch Tractor serves vineyards, orchards, blueberries, dairy, and land management sectors. With cutting-edge technology and a global presence, Monarch is delivering meaningful change for the future of farming. For more information, visit www.monarchtractor.com.

Monarch Tractor Media Contact:

Sling & Stone l monarchtractor@slingstone.com

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SOURCE Monarch Tractor

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Gubagoo and Fullpath Unveil Curator, the First Unified Intelligence Engine for Automotive Retailers

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Curator brings together every type of data across a dealership and normalizes, cleanses, and deduplicates it, creating a single unique view of every customer.

HOUSTON and TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Gubagoo, the leading provider of digital retailing and conversational commerce for automotive dealerships, announced today Curator, the first Unified Intelligence Engine for automotive retailers.

Powered by Fullpath, the automotive industry’s leading customer data platform (CDP) and marketing automation platform, Gubagoo’s Curator has unified all three types of data – transactional, demographic, and behavioral – and made it actionable. Curator collects and unifies first-party data from multiple sources to build a single, complete view of each customer. Dealerships can then use this data for powerful customer and user activation – giving consumers the 1:1 personalization they expect in today’s environment.

While dealerships sit on a wealth of data, one of the biggest challenges they face is leveraging their strong datasets to impact their business strategy and improve the client experience. The root cause is data siloed in disparate applications, spread across multiple or duplicate customer records, sources, reporting tools, and vendors.

Through the partnership, Fullpath provides accurate first-party behavioral data fueled by its powerful analytics engine, identity resolution, and website traffic attribution.

Gubagoo and its parent company, Reynolds and Reynolds, bring a view from inside the dealership with transactional and demographic information, leveraging the richest first-party data in the industry from within the DMS and CRM, as well as customer activity from chat and digital retailing activities.

Combining all of this data into a Unified Intelligence Engine creates a holistic view of the dealership’s customers, unlike any other.

“We knew with Gubagoo and Reynolds we would build something historic for the industry by giving dealers the power to understand and activate their data through a truly connected data infrastructure. And now that we’ve seen the power of Curator, we know that dealers have unparalleled views of their customers they can take action on,” says Aharon Horwitz, Fullpath CEO & Co-founder.

By connecting the DMS, CRM, F&I, Chat, Digital Retailing tools, and more, Curator provides:

Business insightsDecisioning toolsMulti-touch attribution metricsData segmentation across sales and serviceCampaign management and audience best practices for marketing purposesSales enablement

Furthermore, Curator measures effectiveness by department, ad campaigns, as well as customer retention and reactivation; all while managing data hygiene, enrichment, appends, and ID resolutions.

“Dealers have a huge opportunity in front of them, and we couldn’t be more excited to help them take advantage of it with a Unified Intelligence Engine,” said Brad Title, president of Gubagoo. “They have struggled for years with segmented data in disparate tools, and now with Curator, they can leverage all their information in a single place to dramatically increase efficiencies and truly wow customers.”

The groundbreaking Unified Intelligence Engine will launch at NADA 2025.

About Fullpath
Fullpath is the automotive industry’s first enhanced Customer Data Platform (CDP). Fullpath unifies first-party dealership data and activates it by layering powerful AI and marketing automation on top to create a Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP). Dealerships that invest in the platform create exceptional, hyper-personalized customer experiences that drive loyalty and build resilient, lasting business.

About Gubagoo
Gubagoo is the leading provider of conversational commerce and retail solutions for both automotive dealerships and OEMs. More than 8,500 dealerships worldwide partner with Gubagoo, including 90% of the top dealer groups in North America. The company is a subsidiary of Reynolds and Reynolds, with offices in Dayton, Ohio, Houston, Texas, and operates in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia. (Gubagoo.com)

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gubagoo-and-fullpath-unveil-curator-the-first-unified-intelligence-engine-for-automotive-retailers-302307665.html

SOURCE Fullpath

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O’Fallon (MO) Police Department Revolutionizes Public Safety with Cutting-Edge Technology with Caliber Public Safety

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O’Fallon (MO) Police Department is enhancing public safety by adopting Caliber’s public safety software suite, positioning itself as a leader in modern public safety technology.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — O’Fallon, MO – The O’Fallon Police Department is proud to announce its partnership with Caliber Public Safety, integrating state-of-the-art Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), Records Management System (RMS), and Mobile solutions to enhance public safety and law enforcement operations.

“We’re honored to partner with the O’Fallon Police Department in their innovative approach to public safety, empowering their mission to boost efficiency and protect their community,” said Chris Faircloth, VP of Sales and Marketing for Caliber Public Safety.

This significant upgrade reinforces the department’s commitment to modernizing public safety, ensuring the protection and well-being of O’Fallon’s 94,000+ residents. The integration of Caliber’s innovative technologies optimizes dispatch and response operations, facilitating faster reaction times and more effective data management.

“We are excited to leverage these cutting-edge tools to serve our community more efficiently and effectively,” said Chief Frank Mininni. “This technological leap ensures our teams can react faster and manage critical data more effectively, creating a more secure environment for everyone.”

Key benefits of the upgrade include:

Enhanced efficiency through seamless integration of CAD, Mobile, and RMS technologiesImproved data sharing capabilities, connecting local, regional, state, and national agenciesIncreased situational awareness for first responders through real-time access to critical information

The O’Fallon Police Department’s investment in Caliber Public Safety’s solutions was made possible by the “Use Tax” approved by voters in 2019. This tax enables the department to stay current with evolving technology, ensuring transparency and effective use of taxpayer money.

“We are honored to partner with the O’Fallon Police Department in their forward-thinking approach to public safety,” said Chris Faircloth, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Caliber Public Safety. “Together, we are empowering their mission to enhance operational efficiency and safeguard the people they serve.”

About the O’Fallon Police Department:

The O’Fallon Police Department serves over 94,000 residents with a team of 100+ sworn officers, consistently ranking among America’s “Best Places to Live” and “Safest Cities.”

About Caliber Public Safety:

Caliber Public Safety provides innovative solutions to over 1,000 public safety agencies across North America, focusing on data-sharing and interoperability.

Media Contact

Chris Faircloth, Caliber Public Safety, 1-800-274-2911, info@caliberpublicsafety.com, https://caliberpublicsafety.com/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/ofallon-mo-police-department-revolutionizes-public-safety-with-cutting-edge-technology-with-caliber-public-safety-302307052.html

SOURCE Caliber Public Safety; Caliber Public Safety

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GAC Group Showcases New Energy Vehicles and Unveils “Panyu Action” at the 22nd Guangzhou International Auto Show

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GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On November 15, at the 22nd Guangzhou International Auto Show, GAC’s self-owned brands unveiled three groundbreaking models. Alongside these vehicle debuts, GAC Group introduced its three-year strategic initiative – “Panyu Action” – which aims to increase the share of self-owned brands to over 60% of total group sales by 2027, targeting 2 million units in sales.

Designed to drive GAC Group’s transformation, “Panyu Action” is expected to enhance operational efficiency and position the company for sustained high-quality development. This strategic initiative is expected to help GAC strengthen its leadership within both domestic and international automotive markets.

Feng Xingya, President of GAC Group, stated, “GAC Group has taken a solid step forward in its new phase of transformation. We will forge ahead with determination and live up to expectations, presenting an all-new GAC to everyone over the next three years!”

In line with its vision, GAC Group has invested over 50 billion yuan in independent research and development. The company plans to invest an additional 50 billion yuan in the next three years to support its “Panyu Action” initiative, reinforcing its commitment to remain at the forefront of technological innovation in the automotive industry.

“Right now, GAC’s global expansion is entering a new phase, with vehicle exports and local production moving forward together,” said Wei Haigang, President of GAC International. ” We will continue to expand international markets, with plans to reach 100 countries and regions by 2027, and export 500,000 vehicles.”

As part of its growth strategy, GAC Group unveiled three standout models at this year’s auto show: the S7, GAC’s first advanced intelligent vehicle, featuring AI-driven ambient lighting with eight preset expressions for personalized interaction; the Aion UT, the third global strategic model from Aion, with bold headlights and a hatchback design that embodies a unique, free-spirited style; and the HYPTEC HL, GAC’s luxury intelligent flagship SUV, which combines yacht-style wraparound design with zero-gravity seats for an unmatched luxury electric driving experience.

These new models highlight GAC Group’s dedication to leading the smart electric vehicle market, with plans for their introduction to international markets as part of the company’s ongoing global expansion strategy.

Looking ahead, GAC Group remains committed to delivering better products, services, and experiences to consumers worldwide, enhancing mobility solutions and enriching the lives of customers across the globe.

SOURCE GAC

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