Growing ideas.
CLAAS start-up collaboration

As a leading company in the agricultural machinery sector, CLAAS relies on innovative solutions to meet our customers' requirements. Start-ups play a key role by providing access to new technologies and market trends. By drawing on their agility and customer focus, we can develop and test new products, services and business models at speed and so shorten the time to market.

Present your solution to CLAAS.

Help us understand your product and how we can work together.

Pitch your solution to CLAAS

"At CLAAS we believe that collaborating with and investing in start-ups are key to jointly establishing trail-blazing innovations in agricultural engineering."

Sebastian Beck

Managing Director Seed Green Innovations GmbH

Our venture models

We use two tried and tested approaches when partnering with start-ups, depending on the aim of the partnership.

Venture Clienting.

At CLAAS we use venture clienting to integrate innovative start-up technologies directly into our business processes. As an early adopter of start-up products and services, we test new solutions under real-life conditions, which enables us to respond rapidly to technological advances. Our experts work closely with the start-ups to enable their products to be optimally integrated into our systems. Our approach allows us to nurture innovation in agritechnology while at the same time supporting promising innovators.

Venture Capital.

CLAAS uses corporate venture capital to support start-ups in the seed and series A phase through Seed Green Innovations GmbH. Our aim is to champion innovative technology and meet future customer needs. We rely on our extensive network and expertise to facilitate growth and market access for these companies. We focus our investments in Europe and North America to drive innovation in the agritechnology sector and strengthen our market position.

Our start-up investments:

Ag Machinery online marketplace

A digital marketplace for certified used agricultural machinery to simplify complex transactions for dealerships and farmers worldwide.

Ag Robotics and Autonomy

AgXeed offers an intelligent, sustainable and fully autonomous agri-robotics solution with scaleable hardware, virtual planning tools and comprehensive data models.

FAQs

How does a partnership with CLAAS come about?

When you contact us, our Venture Team assesses your inquiry to determine whether it is a strategic fit for CLAAS. If we see potential for both sides, we arrange an initial meeting and provide feedback on how to proceed. Together we decide on the most appropriate form of partnership to ensure a win-win for both sides.

How does CLAAS effectively integrate innovative solutions through the use of venture clienting?

Start-ups with innovative solutions can contact our Venture Team to address specific innovations requirements at CLAAS. Following an initial evaluation by our experts, a pilot project will be launched where appropriate. In this phase, the start-up works closely with CLAAS to test and evaluate the solution. On successful completion, a decision will be made about scaling or long-term integration, followed by contractual negotiations. In this way, CLAAS can effectively integrate innovative solutions.

How does the venture capital investment process work at CLAAS?

After receiving a pitch deck, our Venture Team checks the strategic fit of the start-up and gives preliminary feedback, often within a few days. If we are interested, we then analyse the case for investment in depth. A decision on investment can usually be made within two to three months, subject to due diligence and internal capacities.

Outside idea, inside impact.

Growing ideas. CLAAS start-up collaboration