Source: Go Topeka news release
GO Topeka, the economic development group for Kansas’ capital city, recently announced that Plug and Play Topeka, a global innovation platform that creates industry-specific accelerator programs, has selected 11 animal health startups and 13 ag-tech startups for the fall 2023 cohort.
These early-to-mid-stage startups hail from more than 10 countries including the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., and Australia, among others.
Chosen by founding partners of the program, including Cargill, Evergy, Bimini Pet Health, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the startups represent a broad range of new innovations focused on areas like automation, soil health, pet nutrition, alternative protein, and sustainable packaging. Entrepreneurs representing these startups will now participate in a three-month-long accelerator program to connect them with resources and help their businesses grow.
The 24 startups selected for the program are:
5 Element Food Therapy: Nourishing pet dietary supplements containing proprietary blends of whole foods and herbs.
Bene Meat Technologies: Czech Republic-based company producing cultivated meats.
E-Livestock Global: An award-winning, blockchain-powered, global traceability platform for healthy livestock.
Ferma Farms: Biotech company leveraging fermentation to convert agri-food waste streams back into functional and sustainable ingredients.
Gaia Ag: Brazil-based company using agricultural waste to produce biodegradable cups and straws.
Moggie: Sweden-based developer of the first cat-only health wearable that uses machine learning technology to translate cat actions and behavior into health insights.
Nimble Science: Canada-based company providing actionable intelligence from the GI tract.
Offsetted: Germany-based software that allows organizations to measure, reduce and communicate their emissions.
Sylvester.ai: Canada-based app that uses AI to communicate pain assessment for pets.
Ten Lives: Decarbonizing pet food by producing animal protein, without animals.
Transfur: A platform to streamline medical records for specialty Veterinary Practices.
American Edge Grain: Connecting farmers to users through data-driven technology.
Amos Power: Autonomous electric tractor manufacturer featuring a tri-motor and no-operator design for safety and efficiency.
Bankbarn: AI software that enables scientists to achieve real-time classification of image data for quality control across research, development and manufacturing.
Bovi: Orchard management solution via an all-in-one autonomous tractor driver, agronomist and entomologist.
Crop Intellect: U.K.-based company that develops innovative ag-tech solutions for farmers.
DigiFarmz Smart Agriculture: Brazil-based digital platform that provides agronomic recommendations for higher productivity and profitability with less environmental impact.
Finres: France-based company offering AI solutions to financial institutions in the agricultural sector.
Good Agriculture: Business management platform for small-and-midsize farmers.
Kirkwall: Defends autonomous agricultural and industrial systems from critical failure, utilizing machine learning to train systems to self-identify problems.
Nanotica: Argentina-based company bringing nanotechnology to the farm and allowing farmers to reduce chemical doses.
Nitronic: Australia-based company working on modular fertilizer manufacturing units, enabling farmers and farming communities to produce their own.
TierraSpec: Israel-based soil-intelligence platform employing high-resolution remote data, machine learning, and precision techniques for soil management decision-making.
Yarta: Australia-based AI consultant for farmers and agricultural corporations.
“We are excited to accelerate 24 of the top startups across the animal health and ag-tech industries that were hand-selected by our partners,” said Lindsay Lebahn, senior program and partner success manager for Plug and Play Topeka. “Our goal is to help these emerging companies gain valuable resources, mentorship, and partnerships, which can ultimately bring their disruptive technologies to market and make a real impact in their respective industries.”
The Plug and Play Topeka accelerator aims to bring global innovation to the Midwest by facilitating opportunities for business development, mentorship programs and proof of concepts between the selected startups and founding partners of the program.
“These startups are developing exciting new technologies and products across a variety of focus areas that will enhance the animal health and ag-tech industries,” said Stephanie Moran, senior vice president of innovation for GO Topeka. “We are excited to work with these startups and have the opportunity to showcase the regional resources and partnerships available to support the development and growth of their businesses while immersing them into our community.”
Topeka is centrally located within the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, the world’s largest concentration of animal health companies and related industries. More than 300 animal health companies located between Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, including four of the top 10 animal health companies in the world, generate 56% of the total animal health, diagnostics and pet food sold globally, totaling $21.5 billion in annual sales.
Since the start of the program in the spring of 2021, 54 startups have graduated from the Plug and Play Topeka accelerator program. Each year, the program will develop two accelerator groups, each comprised of 10-12 animal health and ag-tech startups.
About GO Topeka
GO Topeka creates county-wide economic success for all companies and citizens through the implementation of an aggressive economic development strategy that capitalizes on the unique strengths of the community. GO Topeka operates under the Greater Topeka Partnership and is the leading economic development agency in the area. For more, visit GoTopeka.com.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform–connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we’re present in 50+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we’ve invested in hundreds of successful companies, including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/.
