Startup Seed Fund
Up to $50,000 in non-dilutive funding to help early-stage AgTech startups move promising technologies forward.
The Startup Seed Fund helps companies validate, de-risk, and advance technologies that address real agricultural challenges. Funding is milestone-based and can support clearly defined technical, validation, market, or commercialization objectives.
Applications open September 14 – October 16, 2026
Applications close: October 16th | Award notifications: November 6th
What the funding is for
What could you accomplish?
Prototype development or refinement
Field, lab, or user validation
Customer discovery and market validation
Data collection, model development, or technical testing
Product readiness or pilot preparation
Regulatory, manufacturing, or adoption-readiness planning
IP and commercialization strategy
Preparation for follow-on funding
Is Your start up a fit?
We’re looking for early-stage AgTech startups that can clearly define
- The agricultural problem or market need
- The customer or end user
- The technology and its current stage
- A credible approach to solving the problem
- Meaningful milestones that can be completed by February 28, 2027
The opportunity in 5 priority areas
Water & Resource Resilience
Technologies that improve how water, weather, soil, and other constrained resources are measured, managed, and optimized.
Intelligent Operations & Logistics
Automation, autonomy, sensing, and operational coordination from field operations through post-harvest movement and storage.
Breeding, Genetics & Predictive Biology
Breeding, genetics, predictive biology, and bioinformatics as core capabilities for improving crop performance, resilience, quality, nutrition, and market value.
Regenerative Systems & Crop Protection
Soil health, biological inputs, nutrient efficiency, and crop protection in a way that emphasizes resilience and reduced avoidable loss.
Quality, Nutrition & Value-Added Markets
Quality differentiation, identity preservation, nutrition-linked traits, and new value capture opportunities.
What participation Looks like
What to Expect
Projects are milestone-based with clearly defined objectives. Selected teams track progress and provide evidence of milestone completion.
Funding must be spent by February 28, 2027. Deliverables can be accepted up to a year after the award.
Funding
Up to $50,000
Non-dilutive
Milestone-based
Applications Open
September 14, 2026
Applications Close
October 16, 2026
Award Notifications
November 6, 2026
Funds Spent By
February 28, 2027