DONKEY

What DONKEY does

DONKEY Co., Ltd. (株式会社DONKEY) is a Japanese field robotics company that designs, manufactures, and sells autonomous and remote-controlled vehicles for outdoor work environments. The company was formed after Japan Research Institute proposed an "Agriculture 4.0" concept in 2016, and following years of consideration by interested companies and universities, DONKEY was established to develop and sell small multi-functional agricultural robots and to leverage the data they collect. Field demonstrations began in 2019, and after several years of evaluation and iteration the company released its first commercial product, the CP200, in 2024.

The core product is the CP200 (追従運搬車), a four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering (4WD4WS) follow-type transport vehicle with a 200kg payload, 20-degree slope climbing, and up to 8 hours of continuous operation. The platform supports remote control, camera/sensor-based automatic following of a worker, and GNSS-based autonomous navigation that records and replays routes. Position accuracy is achieved at centimeter level using Japan's Michibiki quasi-zenith satellite, eliminating the need for RTK infrastructure. The product line extends to the D-Telass VP150 railway inspection and leading lighting vehicle, modular attachments (pest control sprayer, GNSS receiver, external control interface), and a standalone in-wheel motor with control driver sold as a component. The platform exposes a CAN bus interface (ISO-11898-2, CAN 2.0B at 500kbps) for third-party custom autonomous integrations.

DONKEY operates a direct B2B sales model in Japan across four verticals: agriculture (primary), railway, construction, and logistics. Revenue is generated through hardware sales of robot main units (CP200, D-Telass VP150), attachments, and individual components, with quote-based pricing that is not publicly disclosed. The company is headquartered at the Sagamihara Industry Creation Center (SIC-1) in Kanagawa Prefecture, maintains a headcount of 1-10 employees, and markets primarily through Japanese industry trade shows and downloadable product catalogs. Capital structure is private with a single seed/early round in 2020 led by a strategic syndicate including The Japan Research Institute, SEDIA SYSTEM, T.D.I., Yuasa Trading, and Alps; leadership is led by President and Representative Director 須藤泰志 (Suto Yasushi).

Name

DONKEY

Legal name

株式会社DONKEY

Website

https://donkey.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DONKEY Co., Ltd. (株式会社DONKEY) is a Japanese manufacturer of autonomous and remote-controlled field robots for outdoor work, serving agriculture, railway, construction, and logistics customers with its 4WD4WS CP200 transport vehicle, modular attachments, and a standalone in-wheel motor component.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Field Robotics

NAICS

Agricultural Implement Manufacturing (33311), Industrial Truck, Tractor, Trailer, and Stacker Machinery Manufacturing (333924), Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing (3362)

SIC

Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523), Industrial Trucks, Tractors, Trailors & Stackers (3537), Miscellaneous Transportation Equipment (3790), Motor Vehicle Parts & Accessories (3714)

akta.pro primary industry

Autonomous Field Robots & Tractors (Driverless tractors, robotic carriers) (AFAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Agricultural UAV/UGV Autonomy Platforms (Navigation, mission planning, fleet autonomy) (AFAAAGAF), Autonomous/Robotic Crop Protection Applicators (UGVs, Smart Sprayers) (AFAAADAJ), Robotic Implements, End-Effectors & Tooling (Grippers, cutters, weeding tools, smart implements) (AFAAAGAI)

Keywords

• Field robotics
• Agricultural robots
• Autonomous transport vehicles
• Railway inspection robots
• Outdoor service robots

Headquarters

HQ city

Sagamihara

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Field Robot Sales: Sale of main robot units including CP200 (follow-type transport vehicle) and D-Telass (railway inspection vehicle) for field work applications
2. Attachments and Accessories: Sales of attachable accessories such as pest control equipment (100L tank, boom sprayer), GNSS auto-driving systems, and external control interfaces
3. Individual Components: Sale of individual components including in-wheel motors with control drivers for integration into custom systems

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DONKEY designs, manufactures, and sells small multi-functional field robots for outdoor work. The core offering is the CP200 follow-type transport vehicle with 4WD4WS, 200 kg payload, and autonomous/remote operation, accompanied by the D-Telass VP150 railway lighting vehicle, attachable modules (GNSS auto-driving, pest control sprayer, external control interface), and standalone in-wheel motor components sold to agricultural, railway, construction, and logistics businesses.

Product overview

DONKEY offers a portfolio of field robots designed for outdoor work environments, starting with agriculture and expanding to logistics, construction, and railway applications. The core product is the CP200 (追従運搬車), a 4WD4WS autonomous transport vehicle with 200kg payload capacity and 8-hour battery life. The product line includes the D-Telass VP150 railway maintenance lighting vehicle, various attachments (GNSS autonomous driving, external control interface, pest control sprayer), and individual components (in-wheel motors). These products share a common platform enabling automatic following, remote control, and autonomous navigation capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CP200: Follow-up transport vehicle capable of stable driving on rough terrain and slopes, with versatile operation and high expandability.
• D-Telass

Products and services

• CP200 (追従運搬車, follow-type transport vehicle) Field robot for agriculture and outdoor work with 4WD4WS (four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering), 200 kg maximum load capacity, 20-degree climbing capability, and up to 8 hours of continuous operation. Supports remote control, automatic following of workers, and autonomous navigation modes. Targeted at agricultural, railway, construction, and logistics businesses.
• D-Telass VP150 (軌道上自動追従・先導照明車) Automatic track-following and leading lighting vehicle for railway maintenance operations. Features automatic following, automatic leading navigation, remote control operation, and road-running capability with Japanese-manufactured batteries. Targeted at railway track inspection and maintenance teams.
• In-wheel motor set (インホイール・モータ制御ドライバセット) Standalone sale of the in-wheel BLDC motor used in the CP200, with integrated control driver set. 200 mm+ wheel inner diameter, 100 Nm maximum torque, no-excitation brake, planetary gear reduction, and NTC thermistor for coil temperature detection; a single board controls both left and right wheel motors. Targeted at integrators building custom autonomous platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200kg maximum load capacity with slope climbing ability up to 20 degrees
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Naio Technologies: Small French agricultural robotics company developing autonomous field robots (Oz, Ted, Dino) for weeding and farming tasks. Closely comparable to DONKEY in scale, stage, and outdoor field-robotics product approach for specialty agricultural applications.
• Ecorobotix: Swiss ag robotics startup building autonomous field robots for weeding and crop protection (ARA, AVO). Similar size and product philosophy to DONKEY as a small, focused player in autonomous outdoor agricultural robotics.
• Clearpath Robotics: Canadian developer of outdoor autonomous mobile robot platforms (Husky UGV, Warthog, Jackal) used for agriculture, mining, and research. Comparable to DONKEY as a platform provider of outdoor autonomous vehicles with attachment ecosystems.

Broad incumbents

• Yanmar: Japanese agricultural machinery leader with an autonomous robot tractor program and broad dealer network. Directly competes with DONKEY in Japanese agriculture with far greater scale, distribution, and R&D resources.
• Kubota: Japanese agricultural machinery leader operating the Agri Robo autonomous tractor series and Smart Agri pilot programs. Competes with DONKEY in the same home market across agriculture and adjacent field robotics applications.
• John Deere: Global agricultural machinery leader with the See & Spray autonomy program, autonomous tractor roadmap, and See & Spray Ultimate. Comparable as a broad incumbent pursuing outdoor field autonomy that overlaps with DONKEY's addressable market.
• Polaris: Global leader in off-road utility task vehicles (Ranger, RZR side-by-sides). Comparable to DONKEY in the off-road utility vehicle category, though Polaris focuses on human-carrying UTVs versus DONKEY's autonomous cargo transport.

Regional players

• DOK-ING: Croatian robotics company specializing in railway track maintenance and inspection robots (MV-4, MV-10). Directly comparable to DONKEY's D-Telass VP150 as a niche player in autonomous railway inspection/maintenance robotics, though serving primarily European rail networks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DONKEY