Why OEMs Don’t Need to Build Autonomy In-House Anymore | AgEmerge Podcast 196 with Colin Hurd & MACH
OEMs do not have to choose between building autonomy from scratch or betting a billion dollars on an acquisition. Colin Hurd lays out the third option that is changing how manufacturers think about autonomy—sourcing the full stack from providers like Mach and factory integrating it instead.
If you're an OEM leader, product builder, or anyone tracking the race to autonomous systems, this episode gets to the heart of a major strategic shift: you can buy the physical and digital components, integrate them in-house, and skip the slowest, most expensive path to market. Colin explains why the traditional build-it-yourself route can take far too long, why acquisitions often come with too much risk, and how Mach is positioning itself as the alternative.
Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGh_xGNAclA
Autonomous tractors are only the beginning. The next breakthrough in ag tech is a physical AI layer that can learn, adapt, and make farms dramatically more efficient without forcing every grower to become a robotics expert. Colin Hurd returns to the AgEmerge Podcast with a behind-the-scenes look at where ag autonomy really stands now, why retrofit solutions are only part of the story, and what has to change before self-driving machines become truly useful in the field.
From dusty harvest conditions that break today’s sensors to the opportunity for AI systems to preserve hard-earned farming knowledge, this conversation gets into the real bottlenecks - and the real upside - of the next five years.
Colin has devoted his career to leading innovative companies in the machinery industry. In 2016, Colin founded his second company, Smart Ag, which developed the first retrofit driverless system to automate tractors. After funding and growing the company, he led Smart Ag successfully through an exit to Raven Industries (NYSE:RAVN) in 2019. Raven was then acquired by CNH Industrial in 2021 (NYSE:CNHI). Colin stayed with Raven and managed business development until forming Mach in 2022.
Learn about Mach: https://mach.io/about-us/
