Monarch Tractor’s belongings have been acquired by development big Caterpillar, after struggling to pivot to a software program companies enterprise, in keeping with filings with america Patent and Trademark Workplace.
The acquisition, first reported by Bloomberg, caps just a few robust years for Monarch because it went by means of a number of rounds of layoffs, was sued by three totally different sellers, and misplaced a serious contract manufacturing companion in Foxconn. It additionally comes just some weeks after co-founder and wine scion Carlo Mondavi mentioned he was “pushed out” after disagreeing with CEO Praveen Penmetsa’s software-forward strategy.
Mondavi couldn’t be instantly reached for remark. Penmetsa declined to remark past a press release Monarch issued final week, which mentioned its expertise had been acquired by an unspecified “massive world gear producer.” Caterpillar didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Monarch raised greater than $200 million over the past eight years. It was based in 2018 by Mondavi, Penmetsa, and former Tesla govt Mark Schwager. The objective was to construct “driver elective” electrical tractors that had been additionally able to autonomously navigating wineries, fruit farms, and dairy farms.
Whereas Monarch initially got down to construct the small tractors at its personal facility in Livermore, California, it will definitely grew to become one in every of 4 firms that partnered up with Taiwanese electronics big Foxconn to occupy a former Normal Motors manufacturing facility in Lordstown, Ohio.
Foxconn deliberate to construct automobiles for EV startups Fisker, Lordstown Motors, and IndiEV, in addition to the tractors for Monarch. However Foxconn solely ever made just a few electrical vehicles for Lordstown Motors (which it purchased the manufacturing facility from) earlier than that firm went bankrupt. Fisker and IndiEV additionally went bankrupt earlier than Foxconn may ever make these firms’ future automobiles on the manufacturing facility. Foxconn did make just a few hundred Monarch tractors on the manufacturing facility, however the electronics big bought the plant in August 2025 to SoftBank, leaving Monarch with no producer.
By that time, Monarch was already struggling. It laid off workers in early 2024 earlier than closing a $133 million funding spherical. Just some months later it laid off much more staff and mentioned it was restructuring to concentrate on software program and licensing its autonomous tech.
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Sellers who bought Monarch tractors have claimed the corporate’s autonomous tech by no means labored properly within the first place. One vendor who sued Monarch in September 2025 mentioned the tractors had been “faulty” and “unable to function autonomously.” (Monarch denied the claims in a court docket submitting.) Two different sellers have since filed related federal lawsuits in opposition to Monarch. In a single case, a former protection lawyer for Monarch wrote in a January submitting that Monarch entered into an task for the advantage of collectors — an alternative choice to Chapter 7 chapter.
Mondavi spoke up about his departure final month in a touch upon an Instagram publish from a farmer who complained about Monarch’s tractors. The wine-maker wrote he “left over a 12 months in the past attributable to basic variations in strategy” after seeing “reliability points” with Monarch’s tractors on his farm, and on buddies’ farms.
“I wished to deal with them by means of {hardware} adjustments, whereas the CEO believed they might be solved extra by means of software program. I believed strongly in a distinct path however was finally blocked and pushed out alongside one other co-founder,” he wrote.
The corporate auctioned off most of its remaining tractors earlier this 12 months.
