Empire State Development Announces 2026 Finalists Selected for Eighth Round of $3 Million Grow-NY Global Food and Agriculture Business Competition

Innovative Food and Agriculture Startups from Around the World to Compete to Win a Combined Total of $3 Million in Prize Money at Annual Summit on Nov. 12 and 13

Grow-NY is Funded Through Upstate Revitalization Initiatives - Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising, and Southern Tier Soaring - Regional Comprehensive Strategies to Revitalize Communities and Grow the Economy

Empire State Development (ESD) and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) today announced the 20 finalist startups selected to compete in the eighth round of Grow-NY, the New York State supported international food, beverage and agriculture business competition. The finalists will vie for a top prize investment of $1 million to be awarded following the Grow-NY Summit to be held in Rochester this November. Finalist startups are required to commit to growing jobs, partnerships, or operations in the Grow-NY 22-county region in Upstate New York.

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, "The Grow-NY food and agriculture competition has once again attracted exceptional startups and entrepreneurial talent from around the world. Through this pioneering program, Governor Kathy Hochul continues to push New York State to the national forefront of innovation, harnessing the ingenuity of Grow-NY trailblazers to create jobs, drive economic growth and generate new opportunities across the Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions.”

The 20 finalists will spend the next 10 weeks receiving tailored mentorship from industry experts as they enter the next phase of the Grow-NY competition. Finalists will receive guidance to refine their regional growth plans, be introduced to potential partners and investors, and spend time in the Grow-NY region. Then, they’ll begin to implement their ideas and scout out potential business locations where they can help the farms, food businesses, and communities throughout the Grow-NY region.

It will all culminate on Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13 in Rochester, where the eighth annual Grow-NY Summit will shine a spotlight on the future of food and agriculture. More than one third of the finalists, seven in total, will be selected to receive a portion of $3 million in prize funding. One grand prize winner will receive a $1 million investment; two others will be awarded $500,000 each; and four more will win $250,000 investments.

Selected teams will be traveling to Upstate New York from locations as far away as the Netherlands and Juneau, Alaska. Canada is also represented internationally. Eight U.S. states are represented in this year’s group of finalists – including California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. And four of the finalists’ hail from Grow-NY’s region, coming from the Finger Lakes, Central New York, or the Southern Tier.

The Selected Finalists Include:

Barnwell Bio, New York, New York: Barnwell Bio analyzes the barn microbiome to help poultry and livestock producers better understand animal health risk and opportunity on their operations.
Budbreak Innovations Inc., San Francisco, California: Budbreak Innovations builds autonomous farming robots that continuously capture plant-level field data, turning agriculture into an optimizable, data-driven system and paving the way to the next generation of farming.
CryoBio, Ithaca, New York: Cryobio is developing an effective and affordable solution to fight frost in agriculture, a major threat exacerbated by climate change, which is expected to cause annual losses of $50B globally.
Earnest Agriculture, Rantoul, Illinois: Earnest Agriculture is developing an AI-powered microbe matching platform that replaces chemical farm inputs with active bacteria — increasing yields 7% and giving farmers a 3x return.
Fooditive BV, Rotterdam, Netherlands: Fooditive BV is a precision fermentation company turning microbes into real, animal-free casein for dairy and a zero-calorie sweetener for sugar reduction, licensed to global food and beverage manufacturers.
Frost Methane Labs Co., Juneau, Alaska: Frost Methane partners with livestock farmers to neutralize methane from manure ponds, earning carbon credit revenue and preventing water ingress.
Nouri Foods LLC, Jersey City, New Jersey: Nomie makes USDA Certified Organic, just-add-hot-water meals for kids – shelf-stable, preservative-free, and ready in less than 10 minutes.
NRGene Canada, Saskatoon, Canada: NR Gene Canada maximizes agricultural profitability through an asset-light network that converts low-value by-products into premium feed using proprietary AIgenomics.
Nuravine, West Hurley, New York: Nuravine builds flexible, modular fertigation automation for farms of every type and size, delivering the precision of $100K+ legacy systems at a fraction of the price.
OrganoTech LLC, Syracuse, New York: STROP recovers phosphorus from wastewater and dairy digestate, helping facilities meet discharge limits while producing certified organic fertilizer for farms.
PropelMapper Inc., Brookline, Massachusetts: PropelMapper is the operating system for agricultural advisors. Advisors capture field observations by voice, and we structure them into GPS-tagged reports and institutional knowledge.
Prospect Growth, Newton, Massachusetts: Prospect Growth uses material engineering at the nanoscale to develop and manufacture more efficient & effective fertilizers.
Quantera Analytical, Ithaca, New York: Quantera is making trace-level chemical testing in food dramatically faster, cheaper, and more accessible with a field-deployable, high-throughput platform that replaces decades-old technology.
Recoup Beverage Inc., New York, New York: Recoup is an innovative, Regenerative Organic Certified functional beverage delivering sparkling hydration with benefits at national retail.
RETRN Bioworks Inc., Ithaca, New York: Retrn Bioworks creates a bio-based, highly tunable polymer barrier coating that meets the needs of fiber food packaging manufacturers, and is fully home compostable, marine biodegradable, and recyclable.
Spectacular Labs Inc., Berkeley, California: Spectacular Labs develops fully automated, AI-enabled on-site molecular pathogen detection systems that deliver lab-grade food safety results within a single work shift.
Spraycision, Madison, Wisconsin: Spraycision is a LiDAR-based precision spraying system for orchards and vineyards that controls sprayer nozzles in real time to reduce chemical use, lower costs, and minimize environmental impact.
Starfish Technology Inc., New York, New York: Starfish is the leading network for supply chain traceability, empowering businesses to unlock better insights, reduce risk, and build more connected, compliant, and resilient supply chains.
Startchy Inc., Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Startchy makes the first washable coating for apples which meaningfully improves shelf-life and apple packing efficiency (less bruising, tears, and decay).
ThermoShade Solutions Inc., Los Angeles, California: ThermoShade’s energy-efficient cooling panels combat heat stress in livestock, improving animal health and productivity while reducing electricity bills.

More than 40 expert judges, with backgrounds in agribusiness, economic development, equitable access to capital, food systems, and entrepreneurship, reviewed more than 330 applications from 49 countries and 32 states to select the finalists. Since 2019, the competition has attracted more than 2,000 applications. This year’s candidate pool included:

96 applications from New York State (29% of all applications).
46% of applications from women-founded businesses.
69% of applications from underrepresented minority founders.
Judges also noted a younger field of applicants, with a notable (36% increase) in the number of startups founded three or fewer years ago. New companies represent more than 60% of the applicant pool.

From an industry-related perspective:

43% of applications represented the food industry and 57% represented the agriculture industry.
The technology sector with the strongest representation continues to be Digital Ag, which had 89 applications this year (more than 25% of the total applications).
The biggest sector increase is in Food Tech, with an increase from 50 applications last year to 79 applications this year. Food Tech includes the hardware, software, and services used to prepare, package, store, and distribute food and beverage, as well as technology that valorizes food production side streams.

The Grow-NY region, comprised of 22 counties across Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier, is home to more than 40% of New York State’s farms, and is supported by world-class research institutions, abundant freshwater resources, and a deeply rooted agricultural heritage.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “Congratulations to the 20 finalists of the Grow-NY competition. These forward-thinking companies are being provided a unique and exciting opportunity through Grow-NY to make a real impact on New York’s agricultural industry. Their products are tackling some important facets of the industry, whether it be reducing environmental impact, enhancing animal care, or improving efficiency, for example. I look forward to joining the Grow-NY Summit this fall to help announce the winners and wish all of the participants the best as they work to grow their business and support New York agriculture.

In seven successful rounds of Grow-NY, 49 winning companies have created nearly 330 jobs and raised more than $127 million in follow-on funding. Forty of those companies remain operational in the state, outperforming national startup survival averages and demonstrating strong regional staying power. A new Startup Directory showcases selected finalists and winners from the seven rounds of the annual food and agriculture startup competition.

Grow-NY program director Jenn Smith, said, “Being selected as a Grow-NY finalist is a game-changing credential. While seven of these companies are guaranteed a piece of our $3 million investment, all 20 finalists will leave with something money can’t buy: mentorship and strategic relationships. Their journey over the next 10 weeks culminating with presenting their ideas to judges at the competition will bring access to industry leaders, and a strong network that’s already generated more than $100 million in follow-on funding.”

The Grow-NY competition is funded through New York State’s Upstate Revitalization Initiatives — Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising, and Southern Tier Soaring — and supported by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology (NYSTAR), that is working to catalyze economic growth in Upstate New York.

Registration details are available on the Grow-NY Summit’s website at https://www.grow-ny.com/summit-new/.

To learn more about the Grow-NY competition, visit www.grow-ny.com. To learn more about the Cornell Center for Regional Economic Advancement, visit http://crea.cornell.edu/.

Accelerating Finger Lakes Forward 

Today’s announcement complements “Finger Lakes Forward,” the region’s comprehensive strategy to generate robust economic growth and community development. The regionally designed plan focuses on investing in key industries including photonics, agriculture‎ and food production, and advanced manufacturing. More information is available here.

Accelerating CNY Rising

Today’s announcement complements “CNY Rising” the region’s comprehensive strategy to generate robust economic growth and community development. The regionally designed plan focuses on capitalizing on global market opportunities, strengthening entrepreneurship and creating an inclusive economy. More information is available here.

Accelerating Southern Tier Soaring 

Today’s announcement complements “Southern Tier Soaring,” the region’s comprehensive strategy to generate robust economic growth and community development. The regionally designed plan focuses on attracting a talented workforce, growing business and driving next-generation innovation. More information is available here.

About Empire State Development

Empire State Development (ESD) is New York’s chief economic development agency (www.esd.ny.gov). The mission of ESD is to promote a vigorous and growing economy, encourage the creation of new job and economic opportunities, increase revenues to the State and its municipalities, and achieve stable and diversified local economies. Through the use of loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of financial assistance, ESD strives to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation and support prosperous communities across New York State. ESD is also the primary administrative agency overseeing the Regional Economic Development Councils and the marketing of “I LOVE NY” the State’s iconic tourism brand. For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov and www.esd.ny.gov.

Contact:

Shari Voorhees-Vincent | [email protected] | (585) 399-7055

Press Office | [email protected] | (800) 260-7313

Leigh Martino | Cornell University Center for Regional Economic Advancement [email protected] | (607) 427-0971

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