Farm2050 Coalition Names First Five Nutrient Technology Trial Startups

Top Investors and Industry Leaders Validate Promising Soil and Nutrient-Focused Innovations With Global Trials

PALO ALTO, CA and Palmerston North, New Zealand – Finistere Ventures and Innovation Endeavors today revealed the first five companies selected for the Farm2050 Nutrient Technology Trialing Platform, a dual-hemisphere agritech testing and validation platform. The Farm2050 Nutrient Trialing Platform aims to identify, validate and demonstrate at scale promising technologies in nutrient management and water contamination reduction across broad acre crops, horticulture and pasture-based dairy in collaboration with agritech investors, farmers, researchers and startup companies around the globe.

The innovators chosen for the first wave of trials in New Zealand include:

- ClimateAi, which uses AI to tackle climate risk across the food supply chain

- CropX, an established farm management platform with soil sensing and nitrogen monitoring solutions

- Eko360, a sustainable fertilizer startup providing controlled-release nitrogen solutions

- Pastoral Robotics, focused on reducing nitrate leaching and greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farming with precision infield nitrogen treatments

- Phospholutions Solutions, which provides controlled-release phosphorus technology solutions

- Watch this videoto learn more about the selected companies

“The future of sustainable agriculture is rooted in our soil, and we need solutions that effectively manage nutrients and mitigate the environmental issues associated with nutrient leaching. All five of the companies we’ve selected demonstrated remarkable promise as critical nutrient management technologies that will ease the transition to productive and profitable food production systems with low environmental impact,” noted Michael Pereira, chief agronomist for Finistere Ventures. “We are optimistic that their technology can improve nutrient usage and reduce nutrient loss out in the field, under real environmental pressures within current farming systems and practices. Leveraging our country-specific strongholds around the globe, we look forward to helping these companies build high-fidelity proof points for environmental, sustainability and economic value.”

While global investment in agrifood tech companies in 2020 surged to $22.3 billion according to Finistere Ventures 2020 Agrifood Tech Investment Review, more innovation focused on nutrient analysis and delivery, efficient uptake and environmental impact mitigation is essential for the continued health of our soil and the security of our food system. The first five companies selected stood out from dozens of other applicants based on the strength of their technology, existing data and proof points, global relevance, and trial and commercial readiness.

Finistere Ventures will lead the first wave of trials for these five technologies in New Zealand across pastoral/grazing dairy farms, high-value horticultural crops and broad acre farming efforts with support from Agritech NZ, Callaghan Innovation and Plant & Food Research, taking full advantage of the Southern Hemisphere’s critical growing season. Through the Farm2050 ecosystem, the CEOs will also have the opportunity to showcase their innovations and trial results to a global panel of high-profile industry leaders including Bayer, Landus Cooperative, The Mosaic Company, Nutrien, Syngenta, and Western Growers Association. With an open enrollment and evaluation process in place, Farm2050 anticipates extending the program to the U.S. in 2022 to capture year-round insights across diverse ecologies and farming systems.

About Farm 2050

The Farm 2050 global initiative was launched in 2014 to solve the challenges of feeding a global population of 10 billion people with deep technology solutions that create greater sustainability and nutrition outcomes.Led by a partnership between venture firms Finistere Ventures and Innovation Endeavors, Farm 2050 is a “coalition of the willing”, spanning industry leading corporates, country partners and the burgeoning ecosystem of startups utilizing technology to tackle productivity, sustainability and food access.

About Finistere Ventures

Finistere Ventures is a leading global agrifood technology and life sciences venture capital investor with offices in Palo Alto, San Diego, Ireland, Israel and New Zealand. Its team has developed and invested in some of the most successful agrifood tech companies of the last 20 years—building and backing companies worth more than $5 billion. Visit Finistere.com.

About Innovation Endeavors

Innovation Endeavors is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders, transformational technologies and emergent ecosystems. The firm’s central investment thesis, the Super Evolution, combines data, leading-edge computation, and advanced engineering to transform industries, from agriculture and logistics to life sciences, transportation and more. Its investments include: AlphaSense, Astra, Color, Blue River Technology, Eikon Therapeutics, Fabric, Formlabs, Freenome, Planet, Rebellion, Replica, SoFi, Uber, Upstart, Vicarious Surgical, and more. For more information, visit www.InnovationEndeavors.com.

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