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Ag Startup Engine invests in Automed

July 10, 2018

Ag Startup Engine has announced that it has made an initial seed investment in automed, a supplier of hardware devices and software systems for medication delivery, compliance, disease prevention and traceability for the livestock industry.

The automed system calculates the optimal medication for a variety of different species including cattle, sheep and pigs. It then administers the exact dose and automatically records the data.

Founded by David Edwards and Samira Davoodi in 2012, automed was started with the goal of completing the development of the automatic medication delivery system previously conceived by David in 2008.

Since that time, the company has successfully established facilities in Canberra Australia and Ames, Iowa, and is now working on developing a third branch in Germany, with the aim of servicing the European market.

Automed joins five other Iowa-based startups Performance Livestock Analytics, Nebullam, Gross-Wen Technologies, Smart Ag, and FarmlandFinder in the portfolio of companies in the Ag Startup Engine Fund, making it the sixth startup Ag Startup Engine has invested in since they began in 2016.

“We’re already seeing the fruits of our labor in mentoring and promoting companies beginning or establishing a presence in the Ames community,” said Joel Harris, Co-director of Ag Startup Engine in the press release. “More than $8.5 million in follow-on funding has occurred across our initial investments. The progress and innovation that our portfolio companies continue to drive will to prove our thesis that technical disruption can and does happen in the heart of Iowa.

Over the next one to two years, the Ag Startup Engine plans on adding four to eight more agriculture technology startups like to its portfolio, ranging from animal health to precision agriculture.

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Ag Startup Engine invests in Automed | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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