HudsonAlpha and Gener8tor Provide Opportunities for First Cohort of the AgTech Investment Accelerator

The five startup companies chosen for the inaugural AgTech Investment Accelerator gave their final presentations at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology’s (HudsonAlpha) campus last Saturday.

These series of presentations came after a 12 week program that aimed to bolster Alabama’s ability to translate agriculture technology into commercial products. 

A crowd of around 120 people gathered to watch the program’s first cohort who were selected from hundreds of applicants seeking a part of the $100,000 total investment.

The program is the product of HudsonAlpha’s partnership with global venture Gener8tor. The startups who presented were as followed:

• Shipshape (Birmingham, AL): designs and manufactures ocular, hydroponic farms making fresh vegetables accessible all year-round.
• AgTechLogic (Mesa, Arizona): provides smart technology that immediately transforms existing spray equipment into an intelligent spraying platform that saves resources 
• MicroMGx (Chicago, IL): harnesses microbial chemistry to create more effective and sustainable products 
• MiFood Robot (Madrid, Spain): automates harvesting and collecting food in farms 
• Frakktal (Houston, TX): develops bio based polymers from agricultural overages 

In an interview with the Huntsville Business Journal, program managing director Christopher Udall explained what set these five startups apart from the other applicants. 

“They not only had a sound business model,” Udall said. “But the main deciding factor was that they were a cultural fit within the vision of HudsonAlpha and what we are trying to build as a program culture of being coachable and collaborative.” 

Each startup participated in a 12 week program that provided intensive and individualized coaching along with access to gener8tor’s national network of corporate partners and investors.

According to the program’s Director of Entrepreneurship, Alex Cate, this program is a time for the cohort members to network and learn more about the industry and how they fit in it. 

“It’s really time for them to build relationships and meaningful connections,” said Cate. “They’re about to bounce their ideas and get feedback from industry professionals and really access where they are currently and where they want to head.” 

The completion of the first cohort of participants comes after two full years of planning on HudsonAlpha’s end. 

“The idea first came up in December of 2020 and it was in February of 2021 that we began negotiations with gener8tor. HudsonAlpha had never done an accelerator before and gener8tor had been in the Alabama ecosystem for more than a year, so we were familiar with some of their programs. We were approved by the Growing Alabama Tax Credit in August 2021, which provided the opportunity to recruit the sponsors for funding and were able to start recruiting applicants in Summer of 2022.”

Udall described the presentations as high energy with many foundations and investors represented.

“For the founders (of the startups) it provided a unique opportunity to showcase what Huntsville has done for them and what HudsonAlpha has done for them, ” he explained.

“It was heartwarming to see the collaborative spirit that embodied the whole night.” 

Plans are currently being finalized for a second cohort in the spring of 2023 which is expected to draw even more applicants.

Those interested in applying can keep up with the accelerator news at HudsonAlpha.org.