Plug and Play Topeka Accepts New Batch of Startups
TOPEKA, KANSAS, September 23, 2023 -- Plug and Play Topeka has announced the 11 Animal Health startups and 13 Agtech startups that were selected for the sixth and eighth batches (respectively) of the Animal Health and Agtech programs. These programs aim to bring global innovation to the heartland by facilitating opportunities for business development and mentorship, as well as pilots and POCs between the program's selected startups and founding partners—Cargill, Evergy, Bimini Pet Health, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
The startups—chosen by partners of the program—represent a broad range of new innovations focused on things like automation, soil health, analytics, pet nutrition, alternative protein, and sustainable packaging. The startups also vary in terms of maturity, location, and experience in Plug and Play programming.
Sabina Bruehlmann, CEO of Nimble Science, will be participating in her third Plug and Play Program. She said she is “thrilled to have been selected to participate in the Plug and Play Animal Health program. Leveraging the momentum of corporate partnerships stemming from our participation in past Plug and Play verticals of Health and Food & Beverage—Plug and Play is helping bring our SIMBA microbiome knowledge platform to corporate partners around the world.”
Sharon Tuggle, CEO of 5 Element Food Therapy, who is participating in the program for the first time, said, “I am so honored to have been selected to participate in this rare and unique opportunity with Plug and Play. To be part of a vast ecosystem and granted access to titans of industries would have been a dream come true, if only I had dreamed this big.”
The program’s events have already begun, and the startups will have access to a wide variety of opportunities. Mark Majors, CEO of Gaia Ag, a Topeka-based startup, has already begun taking advantage of what the program has to offer: “Since the minute we got our introduction materials, it has been nothing short of a whirlwind of information, introductions, and ideas. The live feedback from fellow cohort members and the guidance from corporate partners has forced us to re-approach everything about our plan, and when I say that, it's a great thing. We have re-examined everything from how we tell our story to how we can collaborate with others in the program to make our offering more successful. We're taking full advantage of these incredible resources at our disposal, and each day look forward to what's in store!”
Lindsay Lebahn, Sr. Program and Partner Success Manager for Plug and Play Topeka, is looking forward to another cycle: “We are excited to accelerate 24 of the top startups across the animal health and agtech industries that were hand-selected by our partners. 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.”
“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.”
The startups will be part of a graduation event that will take place in Sunnyvale, CA (at the Plug and Play headquarters) December 5-7th and will feature startups from all 19 programs across Plug and Play.
Click below to learn more about the 24 startups participating in the programs.
Animal Health Startups:
We are taking a holistic approach to wellness for dogs and cats using whole food supplements rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine and designed support the body's natural healing process.
We are developing the meat of the future.
E-Livestock Global. An award-winning, blockchain-powered, global traceability platform for healthy livestock.
Ferma Farms is a biotech company leveraging the power of fermentation to convert agri-food waste streams back into functional ingredients suitable for the sustainable world.
Gaia Ag has developed a revolutionary approach to use agricultural waste to address the growing global shortfall of quality paper pulp fiber, with its product driving significant strength increases and providing a lower-cost alternative to virgin timber pulp.
Meet Moggie – the first cat-only health wearable that uses machine learning technology to translate cat actions and behavior into simple health insights, enabling vets to more quickly uncover up to 80% of illnesses that can be detected through subtle changes in activity.
Actionable Intelligence from the GI Tract.
Offsetted is an enterprise software that allows organizations to measure, reduce and communicate their emissions.
Immediate pet pain assessment at your fingertips.
Ten Lives is decarbonizing pet food by producing animal protein, without animals.
Transfur makes it easy to request, send, manage, and review medical records, for Specialty Veterinary Practices.
Agtech Startups:
American Edge Grain (AEG) is the first data-driven, virtual Grain Attribute Exchange to connect farmers who have grain with premium attributes with the end-users that need them.
AMOS Power is an American-made autonomous electric tractor manufacturer based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. AMOS tractors feature an innovative tri-motor and no operator station design, making them safer and more efficient. With AMOS Power, the future of farming is being redefined, one tractor at a time.
AI software that provides intelligent image analysis of biologics. The proprietary software enables scientists to independently train their own AI to achieve real-time AI classification of any imaging data for comprehensive quality control across R&D and manufacturing.
Bovi's orchard management solution is a tractor driver, agronomist and entomologist all in one.
Crop Intellect develops agtech solutions with global reach that are out of the ordinary!
A digital platform for smart agronomic recommendations that promotes higher productivity and profitability with less environmental impact.
The future of resilient agricultural investments.
Good Agriculture is a farm business management platform so small-and-midsize farmers can do more of what they do best: produce nourishing food and steward the land.
Kirkwall defends autonomous agricultural and industrial systems from critical failure, utilizing machine-learning to train systems to self-identify problems before they become catastrophic.
Nanotica Agro brings nanotechnology to the farm, allowing farmers to reduce chemical doses in between 25-50%. Currently offering NAAS (nanotization as a service), Nanotica is servicing Argentine farmers, soon to reach Brazil and later on the US.
Nitronic is actively working on modular fertilizer manufacturing units, enabling farmers and farming communities to produce their own environmentally friendly fertilizers.
TierraSpec's soil-intelligence platform is changing soil-attribute measurement and management by employing high-resolution remote data, machine learning, and precision techniques to provide actionable insights for soil management decision-making.
Yarta is the global AI consultant in the pocket for farmers and agricultural corporates. We help farmers make smart and fast decisions leveraging research from the brightest minds across the industry.
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/
Plug and Play Topeka Contact: l.lebahn@pnptc.com