# Jorge Heraud

> Jorge Heraud is a Peruvian-born engineer and serial agtech founder who co-founded Blue River Technology — sold to John Deere for $305 million in 2017 — and is now CEO of TerraBlaster, a Redwood City startup using NASA-pioneered laser spectroscopy to give farmers real-time soil nutrient data, aiming to cut fertilizer waste and transform how agriculture feeds the world.

- **Role:** CEO at TerraBlaster
- **Organizations:** TerraBlaster, Dogtooth Technologies (Board Chairman), Blue River Technology (co-founded, acquired by John Deere)
- **From:** Peru
- **Nationality:** Peruvian-American
- **Education:** BS, Electrical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, MS, Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, MS, Engineering Management / Management Science, Stanford University, MBA, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Blue River Technology, which developed 'See & Spray' technology reducing herbicide use by up to 90%, Negotiated and closed $305 million acquisition by John Deere in 2017, Raised $30M+ for Blue River Technology from Khosla Ventures, Innovation Endeavors (Eric Schmidt), and major agribusiness firms

## Career timeline

- **~1996-2011** — Director of Engineering and Business Unit Director for Precision Agriculture at Trimble Navigation (15 years), leading GPS, automated steering, and agriculture technology; oversaw 4 acquisitions
- **2011** — Co-founded Blue River Technology with Lee Redden at Stanford, initially focusing on lettuce thinning robotics before pivoting to AI-powered precision herbicide spraying
- **2017** — John Deere acquired Blue River Technology for $305 million — one of agtech's largest acquisitions — for the 'See & Spray' computer vision technology
- **2017-2024** — VP of Automation and Autonomy at John Deere, leading a 600+ person team
- **2024** — Transitioned to advisory role; advising Rootwave, Agtonomy, Dogtooth Technologies, and TerraBlaster
- **March 2025** — Named Chairman of the Board at Dogtooth Technologies
- **May 2025** — Joined TerraBlaster as full-time CEO; company closes $4M seed round led by Khosla Ventures

## Achievements

- Co-founded Blue River Technology, which developed 'See & Spray' technology reducing herbicide use by up to 90%
- Negotiated and closed $305 million acquisition by John Deere in 2017
- Raised $30M+ for Blue River Technology from Khosla Ventures, Innovation Endeavors (Eric Schmidt), and major agribusiness firms
- Blue River generated nearly 6X average investor returns
- Led a 600+ person Automation and Autonomy team at John Deere
- Brought TerraBlaster's $4M seed round to close (oversubscribed), led by Khosla Ventures
- Named Chairman of Dogtooth Technologies board in 2025

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — TerraBlaster closes oversubscribed $4M pre-seed round led by Khosla Ventures, with Bidra (OCP Group's VC arm), The Reservoir, and Trailhead Capital participating
- **2025-05** — Jorge Heraud joins TerraBlaster as full-time CEO after months of advising the company
- **2025-03** — Named Chairman of the Board at Dogtooth Technologies, a dexterous harvesting robotics company
- **2025-06** — TerraBlaster's laser soil sensing technology featured in The Van Trump Report and major agtech media

## Links

- Website: https://terrablaster.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-heraud

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jorge-heraud
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-30