AgStart and Bayer announce Golden Ticket competition for AgriFood Innovators
New competition to advance innovation in global food system
New competition to advance innovation in global food system
WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA (February 28, 2024) – Today, AgStart and Bayer Crop Science announced a new competition for AgriFoodTech startup companies to accelerate the commercialization of their innovations and advance innovation in our global food system. The winner of the competition will receive fully-paid access to lab space and equipment in one of the premier U.S. AgriFoodTech innovation ecosystems, and connect in to Bayer mentors and experts in Bayer’s global innovator network.
The Bayer Crop Science LifeHub California Golden Ticket competition is open to startups from anywhere in the world, from pre-seed to Series A, in the areas of regenerative agriculture, novel crop protection & efficiency approaches, advanced breeding technologies, and applications of synthetic biology. The successful winner of the competition will receive a year of fully-paid use of lab space, shared instruments and equipment, incubation, refrigeration, and other facilities at the Bayer LifeHub California @AgStart facility, hosted by AgStart, in Woodland California. Applications from startup companies will be accepted starting March 1st, with the application window closing April 30th. The winner of the competition could be commencing work as early as June 1st, with fully-subsidized lab facilities available for twelve months from their starting date.
“Bayer is excited to partner with AgStart to launch our Golden Ticket program, and offer critical resources to the winner of this our first AgStart competition,” said Phil Taylor, Director of Open Innovation and Outreach for Bayer Crop Science, in St. Louis, Missouri. “As part of our open innovation ambition, we aim to find novel ways to support startups as they begin their journey towards commercialization. With this first incubation opportunity we chose to focus on the Sacramento region as it’s a top innovation ecosystem for AgTech.”
“Bayer has been a long-time partner of our AgStart program, and we’re pleased at Bayer’s support of startup innovators working to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of our global food system”, said Sudhee Lakshmana, Lab Director of AgStart. “AgStart currently hosts the largest wet-lab incubator for startup companies in California’s Central Valley region, and we offer a tremendous level of equipment, resources, and mentorship to help startups lower their costs in achieving their next milestone in the bench-level commercialization of their technologies. The non-dilutive funding to startups provided through this LifeHub California Golden Ticket program will further lower the costs for the winner to bring their technology to market.”
“Our Greater Sacramento region is home to the University of California Davis, the top research institution in the country for agriculture and forestry, and anchors California’s Central Valley region, home to one of the largest and most-productive agricultural regions in the country, with a focus on high-value specialty crops”, said Lucy Lu Roberts, Director of Business Development in Ag & Food for the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. “With Northern California’s thriving ecosystem for startup companies and entrepreneurship, we see our region as a premier innovation hub where startup companies can accelerate the commercialization of their innovations and bring their ideas to market.”
More information about the LifeHub California Golden Ticket competition, and the link for startup companies to apply, can be found at https://www.halo.science/startup_program/lifehub-golden-ticket. A webinar providing more information to startup companies looking to apply will be held April 4th – registration for the webinar is available at https://info.halo.science/bayercropscience-04.04.24
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About AgStart
AgStart is a 501(c)(3) non-profit incubator focused on supporting entrepreneurs and startups advancing innovation in AgriFood technologies in our global food system. Since its inception in 2012, AgStart has supported hundreds of AgriFood startup companies through its combination of mentorship, education, community building, and its nearly 13,000 sq.ft. Lab@AgStart incubator facility. Located in downtown Woodland California, The Lab@AgStart offers wet-lab, food lab, fermentation and tissue-culture facilities to lower development costs for early-stage startup companies. AgStart is well-connected among AgriFood incubators, having been a founding member of the AgTech Nation collaborative, a network of collaborating AgriFood-focused entrepreneur-support organizations in key innovation hubs across the country focused on quickly connecting startup companies to the resources they need to succeed. Learn more at www.agstart.org.
The Bayer Crop Science LifeHub California Golden Ticket competition is open to startups from anywhere in the world, from pre-seed to Series A, in the areas of regenerative agriculture, novel crop protection & efficiency approaches, advanced breeding technologies, and applications of synthetic biology. The successful winner of the competition will receive a year of fully-paid use of lab space, shared instruments and equipment, incubation, refrigeration, and other facilities at the Bayer LifeHub California @AgStart facility, hosted by AgStart, in Woodland California. Applications from startup companies will be accepted starting March 1st, with the application window closing April 30th. The winner of the competition could be commencing work as early as June 1st, with fully-subsidized lab facilities available for twelve months from their starting date.
“Bayer is excited to partner with AgStart to launch our Golden Ticket program, and offer critical resources to the winner of this our first AgStart competition,” said Phil Taylor, Director of Open Innovation and Outreach for Bayer Crop Science, in St. Louis, Missouri. “As part of our open innovation ambition, we aim to find novel ways to support startups as they begin their journey towards commercialization. With this first incubation opportunity we chose to focus on the Sacramento region as it’s a top innovation ecosystem for AgTech.”
“Bayer has been a long-time partner of our AgStart program, and we’re pleased at Bayer’s support of startup innovators working to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of our global food system”, said Sudhee Lakshmana, Lab Director of AgStart. “AgStart currently hosts the largest wet-lab incubator for startup companies in California’s Central Valley region, and we offer a tremendous level of equipment, resources, and mentorship to help startups lower their costs in achieving their next milestone in the bench-level commercialization of their technologies. The non-dilutive funding to startups provided through this LifeHub California Golden Ticket program will further lower the costs for the winner to bring their technology to market.”
“Our Greater Sacramento region is home to the University of California Davis, the top research institution in the country for agriculture and forestry, and anchors California’s Central Valley region, home to one of the largest and most-productive agricultural regions in the country, with a focus on high-value specialty crops”, said Lucy Lu Roberts, Director of Business Development in Ag & Food for the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. “With Northern California’s thriving ecosystem for startup companies and entrepreneurship, we see our region as a premier innovation hub where startup companies can accelerate the commercialization of their innovations and bring their ideas to market.”
More information about the LifeHub California Golden Ticket competition, and the link for startup companies to apply, can be found at https://www.halo.science/startup_program/lifehub-golden-ticket. A webinar providing more information to startup companies looking to apply will be held April 4th – registration for the webinar is available at https://info.halo.science/bayercropscience-04.04.24
###
About AgStart
AgStart is a 501(c)(3) non-profit incubator focused on supporting entrepreneurs and startups advancing innovation in AgriFood technologies in our global food system. Since its inception in 2012, AgStart has supported hundreds of AgriFood startup companies through its combination of mentorship, education, community building, and its nearly 13,000 sq.ft. Lab@AgStart incubator facility. Located in downtown Woodland California, The Lab@AgStart offers wet-lab, food lab, fermentation and tissue-culture facilities to lower development costs for early-stage startup companies. AgStart is well-connected among AgriFood incubators, having been a founding member of the AgTech Nation collaborative, a network of collaborating AgriFood-focused entrepreneur-support organizations in key innovation hubs across the country focused on quickly connecting startup companies to the resources they need to succeed. Learn more at www.agstart.org.