In mid-July, Ag Startup Engine announced it made an initial investment in an agricultural startup named Automed and has continued its financial support for FarmlandFinder with a second investment. ASE is located at the Iowa State University Research Park.

Automed is a supplier of hardware devices and software systems for medication delivery, compliance, disease prevention and traceability for the livestock industry.

FarmlandFinder (formally known as Terva) developed software that is being used to build a nationwide search engine for land real estate in Iowa. FarmlandFinder has been referred to as “the Zillow of farmland.” ASE’s investments in FarmlandFinder and Automed are in addition to other investments ASE has made in agricultural startups since its formation in 2016.

Funds for startups
The Ag Startup Engine effort was launched over two years ago to address two fundamental gaps that prevent ag startup businesses and entrepreneurs from being more successful in Iowa: lack of money for early seed stage investment, and lack of organized mentorship provided by successful Iowa and Midwestern entrepreneurs.

Automed joins startups FarmlandFinder, Performance Livestock Analytics, Nebullam, Gross-Wen Technologies and Smart Ag in the portfolio of companies in the Ag Startup Engine Fund. ASE aims to provide ag entrepreneurs a structured means of moving from a startup concept to a seed-ready business.

Working in partnership with ISU’s Startup Factory Accelerator, the ASE program has an infrastructure for mentoring, rapid prototyping, product development, customer acquisition and financing.

Mentoring startups
“We’re already seeing the fruits of our labor in mentoring and promoting companies beginning or establishing a presence in the Ames community,” says Joel Harris, co-director of Ag Startup Engine. “More than $8.5 million in follow-on funding has occurred across our initial investments. The progress and innovation that our portfolio companies continue to drive will prove our thesis that technical disruption can and does happen in the heart of Iowa. FarmlandFinder, Automed and other startups we’re currently evaluating continue to cement Ames and the ISU Research Park as the capital of ag technology.”

Founded in 2012 by David Edwards and Samira Davoodi, Automed started with a focus to complete the development of the automatic medication delivery system previously conceived by Edwards in 2008. Since then, the company has successfully established facilities in Canberra, Australia and Ames, Iowa, and is now working on developing its third branch in Germany, with the aim of servicing the European market.

Ag Startup Engine helps open doors
“The Ag Startup Engine has opened up doors with other potential investors and industry partners for Automed,” says CEO David Edwards. “The ASE group has also provided a great platform for Automed to network with the local businesses and industry leaders, as Automed is new to this country.”

FarmlandFinder is the first and only land real estate website to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive database of every land sale transaction across the U.S. Using a proprietary record-aggregating process that requires no manual input from brokers, FarmlandFinder is able to provide access to a nationwide database of every active land sale and past sale transaction record, with just a few clicks.

“Engaging with the Ag Startup Engine has provided critical connections and mentorship to move my business forward,” says Steven Brockshus, founder and CEO of FarmlandFinder. “When you’re building a business that touches the ag industry, it helps to have direct access to the movers and shakers in the industry. I’m grateful to the Ag Startup Engine for being such a great connector.”

Over the next year or two, ASE hopes to add four to eight more ag technology startups like Automed and FarmlandFinder to the portfolio, ranging from animal health to precision agriculture.

Visit agstartupengine.com for more information.

Source: Ag Startup Engine