Finalists chosen in $3M ag business startup competition

Twenty startups have been chosen as finalists in the seventh round of Grow-NY, a $3 million annual food and agriculture business competition.

Empire State Development and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement announced the finalists on Aug. 27. The Grow-NY competition, funded through New York State’s Upstate Revitalization Initiatives — Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising, and Southern Tier Soaring — and Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, was created to catalyze economic growth in Upstate New York. Finalists are required to commit to growing jobs, partnerships or operations in the 22-county region.

“The Grow-NY competition operates at the intersection of innovation, agriculture and economic development,” Jenn Smith, Grow-NY program director, said in a news release. “Our team spends months searching for novel food and ag startups making valuable changes to our food systems that could thrive and create opportunity in Upstate N.Y. We’re excited to facilitate their deep connections in the region over the next couple of months and look forward to sharing their pitches with the public in November.”

This year, 270 startups from 41 countries submitted applications. Thirty-one U.S. states were represented, with 53 applications from New York, and 46% of applicants include a female founder, according to the release.

A panel of 40 judges with backgrounds in agribusiness and economic development selected the finalists, who move into a 10-week business development accelerator. The accelerator includes industry mentorship, business development support and pitch coaching for the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit, set for Nov. 12–13 in Canandaigua, New York.

The finalists

• Brekland, Brooklyn, New York: Biodegradable foam coating with in-field functionality for crop frost protection products.
• DeepAgro, Rosario, Argentina: Artificial intelligence solutions for selective agrochemical spraying, sowing and monitoring and diagnostics.
• Ergo Bioscience, Sunchales, Argentina: Plant cell culturing via a proprietary platform combining AI, genetic engineering and automation to create plant-based proteins.
• Finger Foods Farm, Bloomfield, New York: Frozen soups made with local ingredients and processed at regional businesses.
• Frost Methane, Juneau, Alaska: Partnership with livestock farmers to neutralize methane from manure ponds, earning carbon credit revenue and preventing water ingress.
• Full of Beans Kitchen, New York, New York: Ready-to-eat fava bean products made with regenerative New York-grown crops.
• Knead Technologies, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Software platform that streamlines food rescue operations, enabling businesses to redirect surplus food while quantifying environmental impacts.
• Living Ink Technologies, Berthoud, Colorado: Sustainable printing inks and pigments repurposed from renewable biomass waste like algae.
• Medium Well Technological Solutions, Ramat Yishai, Israel: BioResin and BioBags made from biodegradable materials, offering sustainable solutions for food and pharmaceuticals.
• Mothership Materials, New York, New York: Carbon-negative feedstocks, such as glucose and cellulose, transformed from agricultural waste.
• Picketa Systems, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada: Real-time plant analysis for precision nutrient management.
• PollenSmartHiveLtd, Nairobi, Kenya: AI-powered smart hive technology and precision pollination services for small-scale farmers and beekeepers.
• Renewal Mill, Canandaigua, New York: Gluten-free, vegan baking ingredients and snacks made from nutritious byproducts from food manufacturing.
• Roca, Alameda, California: Electrochemical system that removes ammonium from wastewater and recovers it as nitrogen fertilizer.
• Seen Nutrition, Ithaca, New York: Patented dietary calcium chew made with dairy produced in central New York to promote bone health
• Shire’s Naturals, Peterborough, New Hampshire: Dairy-free foods made from plant-based ingredients.
• ThermoShade, Los Angeles, California: Shade panels that absorb radiated body heat.
• Trebe Biotech, Pergamino, Argentina: Cost-efficient bioproducts for animal health, such as recombinant proteins and vaccines, produced from insect larvae.
• Whipnotic, New York, New York: Patented nozzle technology creates whipped creams infused with all-natural fruit juices and flavor essences.
• ZILA BioWorks, Renton, Washington: Recyclable bio-epoxy resins converted from vegetable oils for use in industrial composites, coatings and adhesives.