California-based Western Growers and S2G Ventures have named three finalists for the 2023 AgSharks Competition, an event in which startups pitch innovations to a live audience of specialty crop producers for a chance to win a $250,000 minimum investment, according to a news release.
The finalists include:
Climate Robotics, a developer of mobile biochar production systems for commercial agriculture.
Cultiva, a global leader in plant cuticle health technology.
Provision, a company whose cloud software simplifies compliance for growers in any commodity, helping them meet requirements from customers, regulators and certifications.
These three startups will pitch their inventions to four industry judges and an audience of more than 300 fresh produce farmers and industry leaders at the Western Growers’ annual meeting Nov. 12-15 on Kauai island in Hawaii, according to the release.
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The competition will be hosted by Daryl Shelton, executive vice president for RDO Equipment Co. The judges include:
Briana Giampaoli, head of marketing and product innovation at Live Oak Farms.
Audre Kapacinskas, principal at S2G Ventures.
J.P. LaBrucherie, president at LaBrucherie Produce.
Sumeeta Salvador, associate at S2G Ventures.
AgSharks was first held in 2017, and through the competition, past winners Hazel Technologies, Burro and Nutjobs have since brought their products from development to market, the release said.
Hazel Technologies has raised over $87.8 million in funding over six rounds and is advancing the industry with sachets that extend the shelf life of fresh produce. Burro raised $10.9 million in a Series A round in September 2021, led by S2G Ventures and Toyota Ventures, and continues to help solve farmers’ labor woes with the expansion of its fleet of autonomous robots to farms across the West. Last year Nutjobs received an AgSharks record $6 million equity investment for its technology transforming nutshell waste into bioplastics, according to the release.
