While the number of locations doesn't necessarily indicate total revenue or profitability, it's the most visible growth indicator.

Kubota Corp. has invested in Parcel THRIVE Inc., a U.S. startup company that provides a collaboration platform to offer a wide range of products and services in one place throughout the production value chain of mainly fruits, vegetables and nuts from the procurement of equipment, machineries, seeds, fertilizers, and other necessities.

Kubota Corp. has begun research and development to make autonomous agricultural robots and other future farming technologies a reality at the North America Research & Development Unit established in January this year as a new research group in the United States.

AgJunction Inc. announced that today at its special meeting of the shareholders, the shareholders of AgJunction passed a special resolution approving a statutory arrangement pursuant to Section 193 of the Business Corporations Act (Alberta), pursuant to which Kubota Canada Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kubota Corporation will acquire all outstanding common shares of AgJunction for cash consideration of CAD $0.75 per AgJunction Share.

The companies will work together to innovate for future commercialization through collaborative research in the field of smart agriculture, bringing together the technologies and know-how developed by each company.