Calgary- and Winnipeg-based CultivateCI among 16 ventures chosen for agtech accelerator program

Calgary- and Winnipeg-based CultivateCI has been selected to participate in cohort two of the AGTECH ACCELERATOR.

Founded by Cultivator powered by Conexus, Emmertech, and Economic Development Regina, AGTECH ACCELERATOR is a 12-week, venture-backed accelerator program built with founders and farmers as the foundation, and combines agriculture and technology to accelerate the development of agriculture technology startups in Canada and beyond.

CultivateCI creates proprietary carbon intensity scoring, recording and reporting for stakeholders in the agriculture supply chain. In addition, it has developed the only low-carbon certification in the industry and provides the entire agriculture supply chain with tools to predict, adopt and monetize sustainable agricultural practices.

“CultivateCI provides a pathway to low carbon products from the field or animal barn to the grocery store,” explained CultivateCI co-founder Boyd Koldingnes, in a statement. “Consumers have the opportunity to purchase products with a low carbon footprint and producers are rewarded with higher selling prices for their lower emission agriculture practices.”

CultivateCI is the only company in Manitoba and Alberta named to this year’s AGTECH cohort. There are a total of sixteen ventures participating in the cohort.

“Transforming agricultural systems is the most critical thing we can do to reverse climate change,” added Koldingnes. “Tracing the carbon footprint from farm to fork is an important piece of this transformation and I’m proud that CultivateCI is leading the way right here in Canada.”

As part of the cohort, from March to June each year, CultivateCI and the companies will go through programming, connect with expert mentors, investors, service providers, and producers in the industry, and at the end of three months, founders will pitch their company at Demo Day on the main stage of Canada’s Farm Show, in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The fifteen other companies participating from Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia are:

• Vivid Machines, Toronto, Ontario

• OneCup AI Vancouver, British Columbia

• GroundTruth Ag Regina, Saskatchewan

• Verdi Vancouver, British Columbia

• BarrelWise Vancouver, British Columbia

• Picketa Systems Fredericton, New Brunswick

• DarkHorse Ag Ventures Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

• SwarmFarm Gindie, Australia

• T-Bin Regina, Saskatchewan

• Vive Crop Protection Toronto, Ontario

• AgriSynth Fressingfield, England

• Flox London, England

• AgriSound York, England

• SugaRox Harpenden, England

• Bionema Swansea, Wales

The AGTECH ACCELERATOR was launched in 2021, and its inaugural cohort consisted of 16 companies from across Canada and the UK. These companies raised $31.7 million in private capital and generated $16.2 million in revenue.