HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, in partnership with global venture firm and startup accelerator gener8tor, announced the six startup companies selected for the fall 2024 cohort of the HudsonAlpha AgTech Accelerator powered by gener8tor. The accelerator began in October and invests up to $100,000 in each of six startups at the forefront of the agriculture technology industry.

The concierge business accelerator connects the startups with an engaged program team, a global community and regional resources from both HudsonAlpha and gener8tor. Participating founders also receive comprehensive and individualized coaching, along with access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors, to help them secure customers, accelerate their revenue growth and attract additional funding.

The companies selected for the fourth cohort of the Huntsville-based program are crop video monitoring startup Druid Ag; pest precision management startup Extrasense Technologies; agrigenomics and life sciences research optimization startup Karyosoft; nutrient delivery nanotechnology startup Psigryph Inc.; food inventory and supply chain management startup See Produce, and cross-border food trade startup Twin Farms. These six companies were selected from among hundreds of applications from around the world. Each went through a rigorous application and interview process before being selected.

“Innovation in the agriculture industry is deeply important to the state of Alabama, our country and the world,” said Alex Cate, director of entrepreneurship programs at HudsonAlpha. “HudsonAlpha is invested in supporting advancements that help feed and fuel Alabamians. From mapping plant genomes, growing an AgTech workforce or empowering startups to move their discoveries to the field, we are excited to continue supporting those on the cutting edge of the agriculture economy.”

Together, gener8tor and HudsonAlpha aim to bring economic diversity and job growth to north Alabama. The HudsonAlpha AgTech Investment Accelerator is supported by the Innovate Alabama Tax Credit program through Innovate Alabama. Sponsors of the HudsonAlpha AgTech Accelerator include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, Breland Homes, Pearce Construction, Regions Bank, Synovus and individual contributors.

“At gener8tor, our mission is to be the best partner for a community to invest in its best and brightest. Our founders are the best and brightest, and I am excited to work with HudsonAlpha and help them accelerate their businesses,” said Christopher Udall, the AgTech accelerator’s managing director.

The accelerator will conclude Dec. 12 with a showcase event highlighting each of the six startups. Founders will have the opportunity to pitch their companies to investors, community partners and the public. Investors, mentors and community members interested in connecting with the startup companies and programs are encouraged to contact Udall at christopher@gener8tor.com.

HudsonAlpha Agtech Accelerator fall 2024 cohort overview

Druid Ag’s Serra System, a revolutionary AI-enabled camera system, allows farmers to monitor their crops from anywhere. Druid Ag’s system detects changes in plant health and alerts farmers when their crops are in need of attention, providing a hassle-free and cost-effective way to keep tabs on their investments. With Druid, farmers can keep an eye on their crops from the comfort of their own homes, allowing them to optimize their operations and maximize their yields. After three years of development, Druid Ag is on track to make $100,000 in its first year on the market from paid pilots with Microsoft, gener8tor alumni company Shipshape Farms and multiple universities.

CEO and founder: Julian Walker | julian@druid.ag | druid.ag

Extrasense Technologies protects the food supply by preventing pest-related disruptions. Extrasense’s precision pest management platform uses low-cost sensors powered by machine vision and a mobile app to capture, monitor and report pest activity in real time. This reduces service costs for food facilities by up to 80% while increasing pest monitoring coverage and visibility by five times. Extrasense has generated more than $250,000 in revenue from early customers and is running a paid pilot project with General Mills, with four additional opportunities in the pipeline.

CEO and founder: Oliver Sanchez | osanchez@extrasense.co | www.extrasense.co/

Karyosoft enhances research efficiency and accelerates innovations in agrigenomics and life sciences organizations via its in-house no-code genomics data management, analytics and visualization tools. Karyosoft has proven it ensures higher data integrity, saves time and cost, and accelerates time to market for data-driven innovations for molecular geneticists. Karyosoft has gained strong validation with revenue from early evangelists, has six-plus clients in the pipeline and is supported by more than $320,000 of investments and grants.

CEO: Rajesh Perianayagam | rajeshpn@karyosoft.com | karyosoft.com

Psigryph Inc.’s Nanopect technology improves the delivery of nutrients in animal feed and the precision delivery of biopesticides. Psigryph’s leading plant-derived nanotechnologies efficiently deliver nutrients, drugs and other molecules of biological interest into the cells of plants, animals and humans. Unlike chemically engineered nanomaterials that pose safety concerns, Psigryph’s nanomaterials are natural, nontoxic and fully biodegradable. Psigryph has an ongoing project with one of the world’s largest fertilizer companies to create Nanopect-enabled green versions of its fertilizers to be tested in its greenhouses.

CEO: Sean Thompson | sean.thompson@psigryph.com | psigryph.com

See Produce uses an AI-powered solution to reduce waste, cut costs and boost efficiency for the supply chain through intelligent produce quality checks, predicting expiry date/sell-by date and forecasting inventory. See Produce aims to reduce produce waste by using this data for dynamic pricing, optimizing the produce shelf arrangements and ensuring consistent quality across all stores. See Produce is running an early-stage pilot program with the Hoogvliet supermarket chain, which operates 75 stores across the Netherlands.

CEO and co-founder: Pandian Rajaram | pandian@seeproduce.com | seeproduce.com

Twin Farms streamlines the $1 trillion-plus global produce trade with a business-to-business marketplace that directly connects Latin American farmers with U.S. buyers, such as grocery stores. Twin Farms simplifies every step of the process: facilitating sales, coordinating logistics, handling payments and paperwork, and ensuring full traceability. Twin Farms’ platform also provides tools that assist buyers and sellers in making informed decisions by clearly displaying prices and costs, building trust throughout its network. Following a successful pilot, Twin Farms is now soft-launching its MVP marketplace and actively onboarding new customers.

CEO and co-founder: Pablo Regalado | pablo@twinfarms.market | www.twinfarms.market