Connecting Innovators, Investors, Industry Professionals and Early Adopter Customers
From improvements in nutritional value, to better resource efficiency, to improved yield, to better cost controls, the agriculture industry is ripe for disruption. It’s happening already, with harvesting automation systems, sensor-based farm management tools and other advanced technologies already appearing on the modern farm. iSelect is investing in the entrepreneurs who are focused on making these innovations happen.
“Given the overall AgTech entrepreneurial activity in the region, and the large number of multinational players, the American Heartland can be a powerful influence in driving the objectives of the AgTech revolution. Taken together, these resources indicate a regional competitive advantage in AgTech, similar to what the Silicon Valley cluster has provided for the IT industry.”
“AgTech: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Growth”, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, April 2014
iSelect Portfolio Companies
iSelect focuses on early-stage food and agriculture companies that are poised to help push the next agricultural revolution forward. We deliberately invest in companies that can make a positive impact on our society, as well as on the bottom line.
Meet Our Selection Committee
Our Food and Agriculture Selection Committee consists of industry and subject matter experts who help guide iSelect’s investment decisions. With firsthand experience and a true pulse on the industry, we consider these individuals key to our success in finding and investing in food and ag innovation.
As deputy director of The Nature Conservancy’s Regenerative Grazing Lands strategy in North America, William leads on-the-ground testing and research of improved ranch management frameworks and tools, and he regularly communicates results with ranchers, land…
As the director of innovation at Beck’s Hybrids, Brad Fruth works to deliver value to the American farmer. For more than 18 years, he has dedicated his days (and nights) to delivering the successful convergence…
Cheryl Van Dyne is an experienced regulatory affairs professional with specializations in the biotech food, feed, excipient, cosmetic, chemical, and oilfield industries. After 22 years at CP Kelco as Director of Global Regulatory Affairs, Cheryl…
Renée Vassilos is The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Agriculture Innovation. She manages TNC’s investments in innovative companies that will help scale regenerative agriculture production practices. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, Renée spent nearly a…
Join Our Food & Agriculture Innovation Network.
Join the over 9,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals driving the future of food and agriculture.
Resources and News
Mars Taps Benson Hill’s Crop Design Platform to Help Protect Cacao from Climate Change
Source: Mars Taps Benson Hill's Crop Design Platform to Help Protect Cacao from Climate Change
Bonumose: U.S. Patent to be Issued for “Enzymatic Production of D-Tagatose”
On September 21, 2018, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued Bonumose LLC a Notice of Allowance on its patent application for “Enzymatic Production of D-Tagatose.” The USPTO’s action recognizes the importance of Bonumose’s unique process for producing high-yields of low-cost tagatose from starch.
The 25 Most Innovative AgTech Startups In 2018
From indoor farming businesses to food safety software providers and more, these are the 25 companies whose technology is poised to change the face of farming. Source: The 25 Most Innovative AgTech Startups In 2018
Food Insecurity Is the Biggest Threat to Life On Earth, Except That it Isn’t
Are we running out of food? The short answer is yes. As of 2016, there were roughly 815 million undernourished people in the world. Beyond that, several billion suffer levels of serious micronutrient malnourishment. But the United Nations says that the world’s...
MIT OpenAg Is the Future of Agriculture. Here’s How We’re Helping
The MIT Media Lab is reimagining the food supply. It’s called the Open Agriculture Initiative (OpenAg) and it is staffed by a team of researchers that has been working since 2014 to create healthier, more engaging, and more inventive future food systems.
Why It Matters That We’re Talking About Gender Discrimination in Agriculture
Agrilyst CEO Allison Kopf has something to say. After several years in agriculture, she’s seen the impact that gender discrimination can have on women in the industry, leaving them feeling overlooked, marginalized and left out, particularly when it comes to conference...
Agrifood Conversations, a New Agriculture Innovation Webinar Series
iSelect Fund, The Van Trump Report and The Yield Lab Institute are pleased to announce the launch of a new weekly webinar series entitled Agrifood Conversations featuring the best in agricultural innovation. With in-depth presentations from some of the leading companies and entrepreneurs in the agtech space, Agrifood Conversations is all about driving agriculture innovation forward and sharing the stories, successes and developments in the industry.
Agrilyst: Developing New Tools to Help Indoor Farmers Thrive
Based in Brooklyn, NY, Agrilyst’s SaaS-based platform provides indoor farmers with data-driven insights to make more profitable production decisions, optimizing labor cost efficiency and improving crop yield. With Agrilyst, indoor growers create seeding plans, schedule harvests, assign tasks, manage climate and nutrient density, and forecast yield, sales, and varietal performance.
It’s Getting Cold in Here: Transforming Modern Refrigeration With Control and Efficiency
Based in Boulder, Colo., Rebound Technologies is commercializing a freeze point suppression cooling cycle technology that targets the most critical part of the cold chain: refrigeration.
HerdDogg: Bringing IoT to the Field
The small town of Marshall, Calif. probably isn’t the first place most people would expect to find the latest in precision agriculture, but don’t tell that to Josh and Albert Blake. That’s because Blake’s Landing Farms, a dairy operation located about an hour north of...
Ag Venture Capital: Here’s What Investors Are Watching in 2018
From AgDaily: Software, social media and the latest wearable gadgets might be getting all the attention, but its the technological changes that are shaking up the agriculture market that are really going to change lives over the next decade. And it’s coming not a moment too soon.
Agrilyst Closes Strategic Funding Round
Agrilyst, the intelligence platform for indoor farms, is pleased to announce the recent closure of its latest strategic fundraising round. New investors included iSelect Fund, Argonautic Ventures, Horizons Lab and Onlan Capital Ventures, with existing investors Compound and New York State Innovation Venture Capital Fund joining as a follow-on.