The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator has announced the five agtech startups selected for the program’s class of 2019.
Based in Des Moines, the accelerator is a mentor-led program that focuses on ag-based technology innovations. This year’s class is the third to go through the 100-day program.
“We’re excited to welcome a diverse group of startups from all over the world to Central Iowa this summer,” said Kerty Levy, interim executive director of the accelerator, in the announcement. “The accelerator will be a catalyzing experience for these entrepreneurs. Throughout their time in our program, they’ll gain valuable connections, constructive feedback from industry players and a clearer path forward in their business pursuits.”
The program will start June 3 and conclude on August 30. The five startups participating in the program will $40,000 in seed funding, mentoring, field trips to investor and mentor companies, outreach, networking and multiple presentation opportunities.
Here is a quick look at the five groups participating in this year’s Iowa AgriTech Accelerator:
droneSAR (Des Moines, Iowa) — droneSAR develops radar imaging technology for commercial drones and small aircrafts that can sense below the crop canopy.
FarmatroniX (College Park, Maryland) — FarmatroniX aims to tackle the skilled labor shortage by providing growers an artificial intelligence system that can control the growing process without any human input.
Otrafy (Vancouver, Canada) — Otrafy is building the data infrastructure that enables seamless transfer of goods between different parties and jurisdictions, thus becoming the gold standard for authenticity and transparency in the food industry.
Raks Agricultural Technology (São Leopoldo, Brazil) — Raks Agricultural Technology provides a system to improve irrigation control based on new TDR sensors to measure the soil moisture, presenting all information on a web platform or mobile app.
Vitalgia (Heerlen, Netherlands) — Vitalgia’s in-plant navigation system guides robots within a plant’s 3D structure, enabling robots to approach human performance of tasks on complex plants.
Presentations
This year’s class will also present and explain their innovations at the accelerator’s Demonstration Day during World Food Prize week in Des Moines.