What Tirotech does

Tirotech is a privately held New Zealand company headquartered in Dunedin that designs and sells GPS-based guidance systems for agricultural aviation operators. Its core product, the Flight Guidance System, equips aerial application aircraft (used for crop spraying, seeding, and similar tasks) with background satellite mapping that works with or without internet coverage, wireless data transfer to eliminate USB-based workflows, variable-rate mapping, third-party system integrations, multi-screen support for pilot training, and an optional ruggedized or consumer tablet hardware form factor including iPad. A real-time online job management platform launched in February 2022 lets farmers submit jobs directly and lets operators track coverage and progress, exported in multiple formats.

The company commercializes through three disclosed line items: a one-time hardware kit at NZ$2,950, a one-time lightbar display at NZ$1,200, and an annual software subscription at NZ$3,250 per year, giving it a hybrid hardware-plus-recurring-revenue model. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with a website contact form and a New Zealand phone number (027 555 2301) for inbound inquiries. Founded formally in 2019 by Daniel Beer, Alistair Barrett, and Shane Vinicombe — whose combined work on New Zealand's first agricultural GPS guidance system dates back to 2005 — the company has expanded from New Zealand into Canada (December 2020) and Australia (April 2021) and reports no institutional funding beyond a single NZ$5,602 Callaghan Innovation grant in September 2020. It currently serves a single vertical (agricultural aviation operators) with no named enterprise customers and no public enterprise logos.

Name

Tirotech

Legal name

Tirotech

Website

https://tirotech.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Tirotech is a New Zealand-based company that designs and sells GPS-based guidance systems for agricultural aviation operators, combining aircraft-mounted hardware with an online job management platform and targeting aerial application pilots across New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Aviation GPS Guidance Systems

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523)

akta.pro primary industry

Guidance, Autosteer & Machine Control (GNSS/RTK, Auto-Steering, Implement Guidance) (AFAGALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Aerial Surveying & Crop Scouting (Imaging, Mapping, Stand Counts) (AFACAIAJ), Field Mapping, GIS & Remote Sensing Analytics (AFAAAFAB), Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

Keywords

• GPS guidance systems
• Agricultural aviation
• Precision agriculture software
• Aerial application mapping
• Variable rate mapping

Headquarters

HQ city

Dunedin

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: One-time hardware kit sales including ruggedized or standard tablets and lightbars for GPS guidance installation on agricultural aircraft.
2. Annual Subscription: Recurring annual subscription for software services, real-time job management system, and ongoing support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Tirotech develops and sells GPS guidance systems for agricultural aircraft, supporting precision crop spraying, seeding, and variable rate aerial application. Its offering combines a hardware kit (tablet and lightbar) with subscription-based flight guidance software and a real-time online job management system that allows pilots and farmers to submit jobs, track progress, and export coverage data. The system is purpose-built for professional agricultural aviation operators in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

Product overview

Tirotech offers a GPS guidance system platform for agricultural aerial application, consisting of the Flight Guidance System (core product with background mapping and wireless transfers), the Online System (real-time job management for job submission and progress tracking), plus hardware components (Hardware Kit, Lightbar) and an Annual Subscription. The system supports multiple screens for pilot training and integrates with existing farming systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flight Guidance System GPS-based guidance system for agricultural aircraft performing crop spraying, seeding, and variable rate aerial application. Features background satellite mapping (with or without internet), wireless data transfer, multiple screens for pilot training, and third-party integrations. Sold to professional agricultural aviation operators in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.
• Online System (Real-time Job Management) Real-time online job management platform for agricultural aviation operators. Enables job submission links to be sent directly to farmer clients, real-time job progress tracking, and export of coverage data in various formats. Customers log in via https://cbridge.tirotech.co.nz/login.
• Hardware Kit Standalone ruggedized hardware kit required to operate the Flight Guidance System on an agricultural aircraft, including a tablet (ruggedized or off-the-shelf, including iPad option). Components can be easily installed "out-of-sight" to reduce installation cost. Priced at $2,950 as a one-time purchase.
• Lightbar Standalone display unit for the Flight Guidance System providing visual guidance cues to the agricultural aircraft pilot. Priced at $1,200 as a one-time purchase.
• Annual Software Subscription Annual recurring subscription to the Flight Guidance System software and Online System, priced at $3,250 per year. Includes ongoing software updates, real-time job management access, and customer support.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Sentera: Sentera builds aerial imagery, mapping, and analytics for precision agriculture, overlapping with Tirotech's background satellite mapping and job-progress export capabilities.
• Agremo: Agremo provides drone-based aerial imagery analytics and variable rate mapping for precision agriculture; comparable emerging player overlapping with Tirotech's variable rate and satellite imagery features.

Broad incumbents

• Raven Industries (CNH Industrial): Raven (now part of CNH) offers guidance, autosteer, and application-control solutions, including ag aviation adjacencies, placing it as a broad incumbent comparison for Tirotech's GPS guidance and application control.
• Ag Leader Technology: Ag Leader provides GPS guidance, displays, and farm management tools for row-crop agriculture; comparable to Tirotech in core guidance technology and SaaS-adjacent workflows.
• Topcon Agriculture: Topcon manufactures GNSS receivers, guidance systems, and precision agriculture solutions used across ag equipment; comparable technology and customer workflows to Tirotech's stack.
• Trimble Agriculture: Trimble offers a broad portfolio of precision agriculture guidance (autosteer, GNSS) plus farm management software that overlaps with Tirotech's GPS guidance and online job-management stack, though Trimble's focus is largely ground equipment.
• John Deere (Precision Ag): Deere's precision agriculture offering (GPS guidance, JD Operations Center, variable rate) is an adjacent broad incumbent whose bundled software and dealer network dwarf a niche ag-aviation specialist like Tirotech.

Others

• NovAtel (Hexagon): NovAtel supplies high-precision GNSS receivers and correction services used in precision agriculture and aerial application guidance; comparable as an enabling upstream GNSS technology provider to Tirotech's GPS guidance system.

Direct peers

• Ag-Nav Inc: Ag-Nav specializes in GPS guidance and job-management systems for agricultural aircraft, directly competing with Tirotech's Flight Guidance System for the same aerial spray operator customer base.
• Satloc (Hummingbird): Satloc builds GPS guidance, flow control, and aerial application management systems for ag aviation, overlapping almost entirely with Tirotech's product surface.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Tirotech