ITHACA, N.Y. — Companies from Ithaca and Canandaigua are among 20 firms selected as finalists in the 7th round of the Grow-NY food and agriculture business competition that awards $3 million in prize money annually.
The finalists also include four companies from New York City and international companies that include two from Canada, two from Argentina, and firms from Israel and Kenya.
Empire State Development (ESD) and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) announced the 20 finalist startups on Aug. 26.
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The Grow-NY competition, funded through New York State’s Upstate Revitalization Initiatives — Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising, and Southern Tier Soaring — and Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), was created to “catalyze economic growth” in upstate New York.
Finalist startups are required to commit to growing jobs, partnerships, or operations in this 22-county region.
“The Grow-NY competition operates at the intersection of innovation, agriculture, and economic development,” Jenn Smith, program director of Grow-NY, said in the announcement. “Our team spends months searching for novel food and ag startups making valuable changes to our food systems that could thrive and create opportunity in Upstate NY. We’re excited to facilitate their deep connections in the region over the next couple of months and look forward to sharing their pitches with the public in November.”
This year’s Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit is set for Nov. 12–13 in Canandaigua, bringing together global innovators, investors, farmers, entrepreneurs, and researchers in the heart of the Finger Lakes to spotlight the future of food and agriculture.
Grow-NY will award a total of $3 million in prize money to seven winners. The disbursement includes a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 awards, and four $250,000 prizes. The program will announce winners during the summit’s closing ceremony.
Finalists
The selected finalists, include:
- Brekland — Brooklyn, N.Y.
- DeepAgro — St. Louis, Missouri
- Ergo Bioscience — Sunchales, Argentina
- Finger Foods Farm — Bloomfield, N.Y.
- Frost Methane — Juneau, Alaska
- Full of Beans Kitchen — New York City
- Knead Technologies — Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Living Ink Technologies — Berthoud, Colorado
- Medium Well Technological Solutions — Tel Aviv, Israel
- Mothership Materials — New York City
- Picketa Systems — Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
- PollenSmartHiveLtd — Nairobi, Kenya
- Renewal Mill — Canandaigua, N.Y.
- Roca — Alameda, California
- Seen Nutrition — Ithaca, N.Y.
- Shire’s Naturals — Peterborough, New Hampshire
- ThermoShade — Los Angeles, California
- Trebe Biotech — Pergamino, Argentina
- Whipnotic — New York City
- ZILA BioWorks — Renton, Washington
