Private Company

Compact connected IoT hardware development

Background
What we're looking for
What we can offer you
Q&A

A leading global agriculture company is seeking partners with experience designing, manufacturing, certifying, and supporting compact connected IoT hardware for industrial, field-deployed, or equipment-adjacent applications.

Background

Digital agriculture platforms rely on connected hardware to capture and transfer data from equipment used in field operations. While some data can be accessed through software integrations with existing equipment or third-party platforms, compact connected devices remain an important part of the data acquisition ecosystem when direct hardware-enabled data capture is needed.

Bringing this type of device to market requires coordination across hardware design, embedded electronics, wireless connectivity, device-level firmware, manufacturing, production testing, certification, and post-launch support. Because so many technical and operational workstreams must come together, development cycles can be complex and time-intensive, making it challenging to keep pace with rapid advances in connectivity, embedded systems, and compact IoT hardware.

We are exploring external partnership models that could support future hardware development, manufacturing, certification, and lifecycle support.

What we're looking for

We are seeking partners that can support compact IoT hardware design, manufacturing, and device-level embedded firmware maintenance for connected industrial or field-deployed devices. The current production volume is approximately 20,000 units per year, so the ideal partner should be able to support specialized, moderate-volume connected hardware programs while providing the technical depth needed for global certification, production, and ongoing device support.

We are particularly interested in partners that can take accountability for a meaningful portion of the device lifecycle rather than supporting only one isolated component. Respondents are encouraged to indicate which steps below their organization can own or support.

Topics of interest

Early-stage device architecture and hardware design
Embedded electronics design and component selection
Compact connected device prototyping and validation
Wireless connectivity integration, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, or related technologies
Hardware and firmware integration
Device-level embedded firmware maintenance and ongoing firmware support
Cybersecurity collaboration for connected device programs
Design for manufacturing and production readiness
Manufacturing, assembly, and production testing
Quality control, reliability testing, and lifecycle support for connected hardware
International device certifications required for import and distribution across multiple markets
Global market access strategy and coordination with external certification or test labs
Post-launch hardware support, root-cause analysis, warranty workflows, or RMA support

Required qualifications

Ability to support compact IoT hardware design and manufacturing
Capability to maintain or support device-level embedded firmware in collaboration with the customer’s internal technical teams
Experience handling or coordinating international device certifications required for import and distribution across multiple markets

Nice-to-have

We're open to experts who have experience with:

Agricultural equipment, off-highway machinery, fleet telematics, industrial IoT, construction equipment, mining equipment, or other rugged device applications
Ruggedization for vibration, shock, dust, moisture, temperature variation, or other field conditions
Vehicle or machine data interfaces, such as CAN, J1939, ISOBUS, or related protocols
Secure firmware update processes, OTA update support, or cybersecurity collaboration for connected devices

Expert location

Accepting applications from experts based in all countries

What we can offer you

Compensation

Budget is available and will be determined based on the scope and structure of the proposed engagement and areas that the partner could support (e.g hardware development, manufacturing, certification, and lifecycle support).

Networking

Partners will have opportunities to engage with our teams across digital agriculture, hardware engineering, software/firmware, cybersecurity, product, operations, procurement, and regional market teams. Partners may also gain visibility with internal stakeholders involved in connected agriculture, data acquisition, and field-deployed digital solutions.

Market Access

Successful partners may have the opportunity to establish a commercial relationship with us and support connected hardware programs within our digital agriculture ecosystem. Depending on performance, strategic fit, and scalability, collaboration could potentially expand across additional geographies, device programs, or related digital agriculture initiatives.

Tools and Technologies

We may provide access to relevant technical requirements, device architecture inputs, connectivity requirements, firmware/data-flow expectations, cybersecurity guidelines, and integration considerations needed to evaluate fit and support collaboration. Access will be considered on a case-by-case basis under appropriate confidentiality arrangements.

Facilities and Services

Selected partners may have opportunities to collaborate with our teams to evaluate proposed capabilities in relevant development, testing, or field-use contexts. This may include support for technical discussions, workflow reviews, prototype or pilot evaluation, production-readiness planning, and coordination with internal teams or external certification/testing resources where appropriate.

Expertise

Selected partners may collaborate with our experts in digital agriculture, connected hardware, embedded systems, firmware, cybersecurity, field operations, and global product deployment. We can provide technical guidance, feedback on device and integration requirements, and practical insight into agricultural operating environments, customer needs, and international market considerations.

Data

Data may be shared to support evaluation, development, validation, or troubleshooting of proposed solutions. This could include non-sensitive or anonymized information related to device use cases, operating environments, connectivity needs, performance expectations, firmware/data requirements, or historical support challenges, subject to confidentiality, security, and data-sharing constraints.

Q&A with the company

The Q&A is now closed.

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How do you envision the division of labor between our engineering team and your internal teams for long-term firmware maintenance and root-cause analysis on warranty/RMA units?

Jeremiah Landi, CEO, Landi Industries

August 1, 2026

Our expectation is that the selected partner would take the primary role in long-term firmware maintenance, validation, and technical support. As a rough working model, we would envision approximately 90% of the effort residing with the partner and 10% with our internal team. Our role would be to define the framework, provide business and system requirements, and review or align on selected testing and validation protocols. We would expect the partner to be able to build, test, maintain, and support the solution from a firmware perspective, including troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for warranty and RMA cases.

Team Member, Reviewer, Private Company

August 21, 2026

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With a production volume around 20,000 units/year, what is your expected ramp schedule from initial prototype runs to full rate production?

Jeremiah Landi, CEO, Landi Industries

August 1, 2026

Our intention is to begin with a seasonal pilot under real operating conditions in the field. If the pilot is successful, we would like to move quickly toward broader deployment, and at this stage we do not foresee internal constraints that would prevent a rapid scale-up. That said, the overall ramp will also depend on country-specific certification and approval timelines, which may extend the schedule in some markets.

Team Member, Reviewer, Private Company

August 21, 2026

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For international certification (CE, FCC, PTCRB, local radio type approvals), do you have established test labs, or would you expect us to manage the compliance and regulatory approval process end-to-end?

Jeremiah Landi, CEO, Landi Industries

August 1, 2026

We are looking for a partner that can provide an end-to-end solution. This includes managing the regulatory and certification process for the relevant target markets with minimal support from our internal team. We would expect the selected partner to lead the coordination with test labs and certification bodies, while our team provides input only where necessary on product use case, documentation, or market priorities.

Team Member, Reviewer, Private Company

August 21, 2026

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Would you consider a technology/IP partner providing device-health, telemetry-assurance, or predictive-maintenance IP alongside an established hardware/firmware manufacturing partner?

Stephen Bonney, Founder, Valor Infrastructure Holdings, LLC

August 13, 2026

At this stage, we are open to discussing different partnership models, including setups that involve complementary technology or IP partners alongside a hardware/firmware development and manufacturing partner. Our priority is to identify the model that best supports a robust pilot, a scalable long-term solution, and clear accountability across delivery and support.

Team Member, Reviewer, Private Company

August 21, 2026

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Do you want to be the sole beneficiary of the HW/SW stack, or the partner would keep access to the product and/or IP?

Nandor Kelecsenyi, CEO, GuardenAI

August 27, 2026

We are flexible on this point and open to discussing different ownership and access models. If the proposal progresses, we would welcome a more detailed discussion to agree on the setup that best fits the scope and contributions of both parties.

Team Member, Reviewer, Private Company

August 28, 2026

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Seeking partners focused on

Agricultural EngineeringClassical MechanicsElectricalMachine LearningMetrologyInternet of Things