Bayer Crop Science | Innovation Ecosystem’s Post

🌟 Wishing you a Happy New Year from all of us at RootCamp! ✨ At RootCamp we are ready for another amazing year. This is also a time to reflect on our achievements of 2023. Follow us this week as we will share a recap of the most important activities in RootCamp in 2023. #Throwback2023 - Part 1 - #AccelerationProgram In 2023, startups continued to be our focus as driving force of innovation, disruptive technologies and novel solutions in the AgTech and Bioeconomy sector. 🚀 We received more than 700 applications and we selected the best 14 talents together with our partners /tag all) K+S, KWS, hannoverimpuls. Thanks to them, we had the opportunity to support entrepreneurs from Germany, Netherlands, Costa Rica, UK, France, Spain and Hungary. Half of the founders are women. We covered many different topics like #CircularEconomy, #Biodiversity #AlternativeProteins #Biologicals #NovelFarming #Biomaterials #Bioenergy #Digitalization. 😎 RootCamp's acceleration program not only provides growing companies with the crucial resources, mentorship, and network needed to thrive but also offers the opportunity to partner with established players and develop pilot projects. ➡️ If you want to meet our current cohort save-the-dates: join our Ecosystem Party on February 7th join the Demo Day of Batch 5 on April 10th Both registration links are in the comments. Thanks to our Batch 4 and 5 startups: Aquanzo, Artenglück, Cultimate, Grassa | Unlocking The Full Potential Of Grass, Poás Bioenergy, greEnCAP, seedalive GmbH, Proofminder, NoMaze, eco:fibr GmbH Amata Green, SL Verdancy Farmula GmbH Regen Insight Ralf Blessing, Dirk Neumann, Juliane Ritter, Rolf Haerdter, Francisco Martin Augusto, Dr. Ershad Tavakol, Mathias Huebner, Jóska Gerendás, Nora Temme, Dr. Alexander M. Wiegelmann, George Bilkis, Marcus Rohde, Peter Eisenschmidt and many more..

Next week (March 18 to 22) will be exciting at the Animal AgTech Innovation Summit, World Agri-Tech, and Future Food-Tech Summits in San Francisco. It is one of the premier events in North America where startups, multinationals, investors, and everyone in between converge to discuss all things related to agri-food. If you will be in attendance, drop me a note and lets connect. Alberta has the talent, ecosystems, R&D capabilities, and primary feedstocks to play an important role the innovation and growth needed to address the challenges facing our growing and changing world. There is never a dull moment in agri-food! #investalberta

🚀 Meet Odette Suitor, the driving force behind Grain Storage, a startup reshaping the landscape of grain storage solutions.  A sixth generation farmer and agri-business consultant, Odette has developed an on-farm grain storage solution that addresses the pressing needs of modern grain producers. Her solution, born out of a profound understanding of customer pain points, offers scalability, increased efficiency, and protection from pests and disease. "The longer the grain stays in the paddock, it loses quality, so we want it up as fast as we can," she explains. It's taken years to tirelessly refined the concept, crafting three prototypes to perfection. The grain storage system is capable of holding 500 tonnes. The most valuable feature is that it allows all the grain from the chaser bin to go directly into the storage, eliminating the need for trucks and increasing the harvest pace. Odette was part of a Pre Accelerator sprint and said of the program: "F2F programs provide a vital role for the ag industry and startups. I was supported to refine processes such as go-to-market strategy and pitch preparation, plus facilitated access to industry professionals, and useful resources for innovative technologies." We're on the hunt for startups 👀 with technology applications for the Grains Industry, so if that's you, book a call here: https://lnkd.in/dR-3FfHc or if you know someone, please tag them below! 📅 Applications close 28th April. This program is proudly supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation. #womeninag #ozag #australianag #aginnovation #ausag #agchatoz #agtechstartup 

What is TALENT? In the fertile grounds of innovation, talent often blooms in the most unexpected places. I was able to witness this firsthand at a the START Global student hackathon last week, an event that focuses on catalyzing ideas for various industry challenges, including agriculture. At the hacking arena of innovation, I was struck by the energy - a blend of talent, persistence, creativity and other factors that together, create the alchemy of success. Another key ingredient of that larger equation is collaboration. Or in farming terms: The pollination of ideas which turns a single seed into a garden of possibilities. Resources, too, play a crucial role. Just as a farmer needs the right tools to cultivate their land, innovators need access to technology, mentorship, and a platform to bring their ideas to life. Events like the #STARThack provide such resources allowing talents of the next generation to thrive and contribute to complex challenges - such as how we feed an ever-growing population while protecting our planet. Syngenta is cultivating an environment that values innovation and collaboration through such events and strategic partnerships (e.g., as recently announced with IBM Research and with US biotech Maxygen). Platforms like our https://lnkd.in/dpYrZexz program act as incubator and bring together academia, start ups and organizations. A big THANK YOU to all "our" teams that inspired us with their talent, their persistence  and their creativity at the #STARThack. Mostly I enjoyed the collaboration and exchange with these young talents (some of them listed below) and look forward to hearing about the causes they'll invest their talents in the future. While riding a unicorn may not be my talent (clearly not, but my team challenged me at the #STARThack), it might invite others to try things they are not (yet) experts iny, and which could potentially blossom into something special over time. #futureofagriculture #digitaltransformation #digital Luis Kalckstein, Mojmír Horváth, Victoria Utomo, Peter Dike, Michelle Espranita Liman, Andrés González Eelman, Alexander Palatnik, Ekaterina Gikalo, Leonie Merkl, Felix Waigner, Johanna Emily Hallfahrt, Noah Latzel, Alexandra Juchler, Shinan Chen, Pedro Basso, João Rubens Belluzzo Neto, Alessia Bernareggi (and many others, who I don't have the contacts of)

⏩ Accelerator opportunity for the Blue Tech ecosystem! WAVE, a collective platform aiming for ocean regeneration within one human generation, is partnering with TONOMUS to launch PROJECT 71, a venture competition for blue tech innovators. 6️⃣ Innovations addressing the following six key domains of ocean regeneration are invited to apply: regenerative fishing, regenerative aquaculture & seafood production, regenerative tourism & recreation, ocean pollution, ocean intelligence and the regenerative blue economy. 🏆Finalists will win the chance to pitch their venture in a final showcase and join the TONOMUS Venture Studio. They will also be integrated into WAVE’s ocean innovation community and access its unique support network. 📣 Entrepreneurs, early-stage start-ups and scientists from around the world are invited to submit ideas or ventures! ⏰ Deadline 29 March 2024. ℹ Find out more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/dPRgqvJi #BlueTech #Ocean #Regeneration #BlueEconomy #Saudi

hexafarms Secures €1.3M Pre-Seed Funding for AI-Driven Greenhouse Optimization Hexafarms has announced the closing of a €1.3 million pre-seed funding round. This round was led by European early-stage investor Speedinvest, with additional participation from Mudcake and Techstars. This new investment brings hexafarms’ total capital raised to over €2.5 million. The funds will be used to further develop hexafarms’ AI and machine learning capabilities and expand its team of research and development experts. David Ahmed, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hexafarms, stated in an interview with EU startups, “The global agriculture industry plays a fundamental role on a vast scale, but it’s under-optimized. Our mission is to address this issue. With our evolving AI models, we aim to unlock potential savings of nearly 30% in variable costs and losses.” Read more on our website! Subscribe to our weekly AgTech Digest to get the latest updates in the industry at https://lnkd.in/gbtnQ59U

Exciting News! 🚀 Pusa Krishi partners with Evergreen Innovation Platform to empower startups with technical validation, market pilot, and commercialization support. Together, we're cultivating success stories in agriculture innovation! 🌱💼 Dr. Akriti Sharma #PusaKrishi #EvergreenInnovation #StartupSupport #AgricultureInnovation

Want to be “in the room where it happens”? Then join us October 16 in Manchester NH for our Investment Summit. Download the agenda on the event page to learn more about the 15 companies vying for $100K investment prize as well as engaging panels and spotlight companies! As the tagline says - “Come curious, leave inspired”

Entering the market takes commitment and dedication. Projini's first-ever AI-generated herbicide is getting us closer to solving the acute issue of herbicide-resistant weeds. These weeds are causing crop loss worth billions of dollars, especially for soy and corn growers in the US. And so, we are thrilled to share that Projini has been selected for the START AgriTech Scale Up Program, which opens up opportunities for collaboration and meaningful connections. Business and agriculture leaders, AI and Agtech investors, join us in St. George, Utah this April for one-on-one meetings. Let's explore opportunities for collaboration and establish meaningful connections. Interested in getting involved? Reach out here: https://lnkd.in/eXDSRWYF. Meet us at the final Expo and Pitch event: https://lnkd.in/em7tcbQi. Arieli Capital Frontier RNG Utah Tech University Exit Ventures Haifa Group World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) @ramat Negev Desert Ag Research Centre #STARTAgriTech #Innovation #AgriTech #Startups #ImpactInvesting

We're excited to spotlight Colossal Biosciences in a Fortune article detailing their innovative approach to de-extinction. Unlike the fictional Jurassic Park, Colossal is making science fiction a sustainable business reality under CEO/Founder Ben Lamm's leadership. Their strategy includes engaging consumer education, spinning out tech companies like Form Bio, and integrating conservation with economic models like carbon credits. This recognition reaffirms our commitment to investing in companies that lead in technology and positively impact our planet. Join us in celebrating Colossal's role in reshaping our world and offering significant opportunities for investors at the intersection of technology and sustainability. For more on Colossal's groundbreaking work, check out the full article in Fortune: https://lnkd.in/eHPKS_PC George Church Thomas Tull Breyer Capital In-Q-Tel (IQT) Draper Associates At One Ventures JAZZ Venture Partners Animal Capital Global Space Ventures Climate Capital Untamed Planet Animoca Brands Boost VC PEAK6