America’s Cultivation Corridor announced today the names of the eight international startup companies that will participate in the first Cultivo Virtual Academy.
The six-week virtual program will provide participants with mentorship, interaction with Iowa’s agricultural leaders, and an online curriculum focused on U.S. market entry, regulatory and financing systems, and customer perspectives.
The program will launch on April 13 with sessions facilitated by Iowa business and university leaders. America’s Cultivation Corridor will host and coordinate the Cultivo Virtual Academy in partnership with its investors and supporting organizations.
“The companies in the Cultivo Virtual Academy cohort represent a diverse group of new technologies and innovative approaches to a range of agricultural challenges,” said Debi Durham, director of the IEDA and the Iowa Finance Authority in a release. “We look forward to the connections and opportunities that are built as they connect with Iowa’s research, farming and business leaders and provide opportunities for these companies as they plan their entry into the U.S. marketplace.”
“We are excited to welcome a very impressive group of startups to the first Cultivo cohort and look forward to making critical connections with Iowa’s business leaders, research and forward-thinking farmers and livestock producers,” said Judd O’Connor, President of U.S. Commercial Business for Corteva, and Chairman of the Cultivation Corridor Board of Directors.
The program will be hosted via the Virtual Academy Hub, a professionally managed platform for learning and engagement.
“The companies in the Cultivo Virtual Academy cohort represent a diverse group of new technologies and innovative approaches to a range of agricultural challenges,” said Debi Durham. “As these companies plan their entry into the U.S. marketplace, we look forward to the connections and opportunities that emerge in Iowa as they collaborate with our state’s research centers and agricultural and business leaders.”
Participating companies include:
AgriDigital (Australia)
AgriDigital provides a digital platform for the grain supply chain, including a grain tracking program that enables growers to track and trace their harvest, inventory, and sales.
ARCITEKBio (United Kingdom)
ARCITEKBio Ltd (ABL) has developed a sustainable biotechnological platform for producing the natural sweetener xylitol using proprietary microbial strains and a fermentation-based approach.
Bondi Labs (Australia)
Bondi Labs uses smart glasses and computer-vision detection applications to deliver internal training in meat processing plants and conduct food safety and compliance inspections and audits.
Escavox (Australia)
Escavox uses smart trackers to collect data related to time, temperature, and location of fresh produce and meat products as they travel through the food system from farm to retail shelf.
FarmSee (Israel)
FarmSee develops precision livestock monitoring and growth optimization products based on advanced computer vision and neural networks.
LifeDome (Israel)
LifeDome uses non-invasive and remote sensing technology to monitor temperature, behavior, and other changes to detect potential subclinical diseases for individual animals in livestock barns.
Safe Ag Systems (Australia)
Safe Ag Systems provides a platform to mitigate risk, improve safety behavior, and manage compliance and regulatory requirements and audits for a range of agricultural businesses.
SoftRide (Israel)
SoftRide provides safe and cost-effective autonomous machinery operations in geofenced areas with a seamless, plug-and-play solution for plant protection applications.
SWAN Systems (Australia)
SWAN Systems is a precision irrigation tool developed to optimize water and nutrient use, including precise irrigation scheduling, monitoring of crop health, and tracking progress against water and nutrient budgets.