The 40 agrifood tech startups to watch in 2023: evoke^AG. announces its 2023 Startup Program participants

Startups and scaleups from Australia, Canada, France, Israel, New Zealand and the United States of America will showcase their ideas, products and services to more than 1,500 delegates at AgriFutures evoke^AG., Asia Pacific’s premier agrifood tech event, in Adelaide on 21-22 February 2023.

Comprising of three streams (Startup Alley, Startup Showcase and the Investor Pitch) the Program is designed to provide local and global agrifood tech startups and scaleups with a platform designed to demonstrate how technology and innovation is helping to address the global challenges our food system faces.

In the mix of successful Startup Alley companies, is the Gaia Project Australia. Focused on addressing the need for global food security, in space and back down to Earth, the Gaia Project’s innovative modular solutions for controlled environment farms use half the electricity and half the labour, to double leafy green yields at a reduced price.

Bühler, a Swiss multinational plant equipment manufacturer known for its services relating to food processing, has partnered with evoke^AG. to bring Startup Alley to life at the 2023 event.

Dr Aparna Venkatesh, Collaborative Innovation Lead at Bühler in Southeast Asia and Oceania, said given Bühler’s focus on innovation and collaboration to address the challenges of a global market, there was natural alignment between the global technology brand and evoke^AG.

Dr Aparna Venkatesh, Collaborative Innovation Lead at Bühler in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Aparna will facilitate two sessions at evokeAG in Adelaide: “What will it take to satisfy the growing global appetite for protein?” and “SynBio: transforming agriculture one cell at a time.”

“The global challenges that we face – the rising protein gap, natural resource management and climate change among others – are too big to solve alone.

“Bühler is committed to rising to the global challenge and we’re delighted to be partnering with evoke^AG. on Startup Alley in Adelaide. This partnership, as well as the connections and partnerships that we help to facilitate, are a starting point to solve these big challenges. Together we can drive innovation that will make a real difference for the future of food and farm,” said Aparna.

AgriFutures Australia, Managing Director, John Harvey said given the current global forces, next year’s event and the Startup Program will play a crucial role in powering globally relevant conversations within the agrifood tech ecosystem, and showcasing potential solutions.

“Since evoke^AG. 2020 we’ve lived through fires, floods, a pandemic, and international conflict. These events have highlighted the serious shortfalls in food security. There is an increasing sense of urgency around how we engage in global conversations, mitigate risks to our supply chain and challenge the conventions of what we grow, how we grow it and what we eat.

“The Startup Program will provide an impressive display of game-changing technologies and solutions for agriculture and our food system. The startups and scaleups will have the opportunity to connect with local and international customers, investors and potential partners,” said Mr Harvey.

One example is Startup Showcase and Startup Alley participant Beewise, an Israeli startup with the world’s first autonomous beehive.

Named one of Time Magazine’s best inventions of 2020, the autonomous beehive is available in the United Sates, and has enormous potential to help the Australian honey bee and pollination industry tackle the challenges it faces with the threat of varroa mite.

Another is pioneering French agricultural robotics company Naïo Technologies who will introduce evoke^AG. delegates to its 100% electric, and autonomous robots Oz, Orio, Ted and Jo during the Startup Showcase and Startup Alley. Specialising in horticulture and viticulture, Naïo Technologies has more than 300 robots operating in more than 20 countries tackling labour shortages, reducing the strenuous physical workload on staff and limiting the use of chemicals.

The companies selected to participate in the Startup Program, and their respective streams, are detailed below.

Startup Alley

Startup Alley, a mainstay at evokeAG, will return to evoke^AG. 2023 in Adelaide. In 2023 Startup Alley will be powered by Bühler.

Startup Alley, powered by Bühler, returns to evoke^AG. 2023 in Adelaide. With thanks to Bühler’s partnership, 40 businesses will showcase their innovations to all evoke^AG. delegates in “The Hive” across the two days.

Startup Alley exhibitors:

1.  Agbot | QLD
2.  Agronomeye | NSW
3.  Bee Innovative | NSW
4.  BioScout | NSW
5.  Bondi Labs | VIC
6.  Cherrp | SA
7.  Demand Side Instruments | France
8.  Downforce Technologies | United Kingdom
9.  FarmLab | NSW
10.  Gaia Project | VIC
11.  GoMicro | SA
12.  Hillridge Technologies | NSW
13.  Leaf Agriculture | USA
14.  LLEAF | NSW
15.  Onside | New Zealand
16.  Optiweigh | NSW
17.  Pairtree Intelligence | NSW
18.  PostHarvest | NSW
19.  PPB Technology | ACT
20.  Rainstick | QLD
21.  Rubens Technologies | VIC
22.  SWAN Systems | WA
23.  TruckTracker | QLD
24.  UBI Meat | Canada
25.  VetChip | WA
26.  Whole. | WA
27.  Zetifi | NSW
28.  Zondii | NSW

The companies who have been successful in the Investor Pitch and Showcase streams will also exhibit in Startup Alley.

Startup Showcase

The evoke^AG. Startup Showcase provides an opportunity for local and global startups to showcase their innovative products to the evoke^AG. delegates. The Showcase seeks to help startups build their customer base and expand their networks in the Australian and global market. Each startup will present a three-minute showcase on the evoke^AG. 2023 stage across the two-day event.

Successful startups for the Showcase:

1.  Athena IR Tech | Jay Holata | SA
2.  Beewise | Saar Safra | Israel
3.  CropX | Eitan Dan | New Zealand
4.  Deep Planet | David Carter | United Kingdom
5.  InvertiGro | Ben Lee | NSW
6.  Naïo Technologies | Julien Laffont | France
7.  Ripe Robotics | Hunter Jay | VIC

Investor Pitch

A snippet of the 2022 Investor Pitch Dinner where five startups pitched to 70 Australian and New Zealand Investors.

The Investor Pitch is a standalone event on the eve of evoke^AG. 2023. The Investor only event will facilitate curated conversations and connections between international and local investors, and Australian and New Zealand companies. Startups will pitch directly to an investor only audience on Monday, 20 February 2023.

Successful Startups pitching:

1.  Eighth Day Foods | Roger Drew | VIC
2.  Geora | Bridie Ohlsson | NSW
3.  Lyro Robotics | Dr Nicole Robinson | QLD
4.  Nanobubble Agritech | Leon Power | New Zealand
5.  The Leaf Protein Company | Fern Ho | VIC

If you are an investor and interested in attending the Investor Pitch Dinner, please contact Lauren Sharkey [email protected].

Visit evokeag.com/startups to find out more about the evoke^AG. 2023 Startup Program.

evoke^AG. 2023 will take place in Adelaide, South Australia on 21-22 February 2023. Tickets are available via evokeag.com, with discounted group, student and primary producer delegate passes also available. With the two previous evoke^AG. events selling out, and international delegates jumping at the chance to return in 2023, we recommend getting in early to secure your tickets.

View the full two-day program, including all speakers and partners involved in evoke^AG. 2023.

About evoke^AG.

evoke^AG. is powered by AgriFutures Australia and funded by the Australian Government, Platinum Partner Elders, and Host City Partner the Government of South Australia.

evoke^AG. connects the agrifood innovation community across the Asia Pacific and around the world. We do this by providing a digital platform and a premier agrifood tech event where farmers share their experiences, startups pitch their potential, scientists showcase their discoveries, global business leaders share their insights and industry experts debate their opinions. evoke^AG. provides innovative news and views from around the world that elevates the conversation and connects the agrifood innovation community, every day.

About Bühler – Startup Alley Partner

Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies to cover their basic needs for food and mobility every day. For this, we develop the best process solutions along complete value chains.

Two billion people each day enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment; and one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured with parts produced with our machinery. Having this global relevance, we are in a unique position to turn today’s global challenges into sustainable and good business.

Bühler has two business pillars: Grains & Food solutions ensure safe and healthy food and feed, and Advanced Materials contributes to the production of energy-efficient vehicles and buildings.

The challenges we face today on the global market and in the environment are too vast to solve alone. The solutions we need demand collaborative ecosystems where groups from science to industry to startups work together. Bühler has followed a collaborative innovation approach for a decade and partnerships will help us reach new levels.

Media enquires:

Georgie Robertson
Director, The Regional PR Co.
[email protected]
0417 217 869