Innovate UK

Innovate UK is a non-departmental public body established in 2007 and based in Swindon, United Kingdom. Funded by a government grant, it supports innovation in science and technology by providing funding services to businesses across various sectors and regions. The organization aims to drive productivity and economic growth by facilitating advancements that contribute to the UK’s economic landscape. In addition to funding, Innovate UK offers a range of services and information related to business and economic development, thereby fostering a supportive environment for innovation.

Mike Biddle

Programme Director of Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Will Drury

Executive Director, Digital and Technologies

Paul Gadd

Deputy Director

Dr. Tom Jenkins

Deputy Director

Scott James O'Brien

Director, Innovation Finance

Nigel Walker

Deputy Director, Lending and Investor Partnerships

Dave Wilkes

Director of Innovation Ecosystem

Past deals in AgTech

FOTENIX

Grant in 2025
FOTENIX is a diagnostics company focused on enhancing crop production through advanced monitoring solutions. Utilizing a combination of specialized light sensors and embedded artificial intelligence, FOTENIX enables the early detection of plant conditions, including diseases. Their technology is integrated into sprayers, facilitating precision farming practices. Additionally, FOTENIX offers a cloud platform that provides agronomic insights based on the data collected, allowing producers and agronomists to make informed decisions that improve crop yield quality and shelf-life. By identifying plant characteristics early in the growing season, FOTENIX assists in taking timely actions to optimize agricultural outcomes.

AgriSound

Grant in 2024
AgriSound is an agri-tech company that specializes in advanced sound analysis for monitoring insect activity, particularly focusing on pollinators. The company has developed a pollination management platform that utilizes sound, environmental, and vision technology sensors to monitor and predict pollinator behavior across agricultural estates. This platform enables users, including beekeepers, farmers, and researchers, to assess hive status in near real-time through the use of predictive algorithms. By providing insights into insect activity and environmental changes affecting pollination, AgriSound's technology allows for remote management of beehives and supports timely decision-making. This innovation aims to enhance agricultural operations and promote biodiversity by suggesting appropriate actions to maintain optimal pollination conditions.

Outfield

Grant in 2024
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Fieldwork Robotics

Grant in 2024
Fieldwork Robotics Ltd. is a company based in Plymouth, United Kingdom, established in 2016. It focuses on developing and manufacturing modular robotic tools specifically designed for agricultural applications, particularly for the efficient harvesting of raspberries. The company's innovative tool features a soft, adaptable robotic arm equipped with a highly sensitive gripper that can delicately handle fragile fruits. This technology aims to lower the harvest cost per berry, minimize waste, and offer a reliable and sustainable solution for fruit-growing businesses.

KAMIM Technologies

Pre Seed Round in 2023
KAMIM Technologies is a leading EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) company. We specialize in crafting tailored engineering & solar energy solutions for residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Beyond conventional solar solutions, we emphasize creating solar-powered systems, especially for the agricultural sector. Our innovative products such as solar-powered cold rooms, irrigation systems, and driers aim to revolutionize agricultural productivity and sustainability. We were founded by members with over 40 years of combined industry experience.

PES Technologies

Grant in 2023
PES Technologies specializes in developing advanced technology for soil health analysis. The company has created a microbe sensor that monitors the biological properties of soil, enabling farmers and agronomists to assess the health of their soil effectively. By analyzing the status of microbial activity, the sensor provides insights into long-term changes in soil health resulting from agricultural practices. This innovative tool equips users with the necessary data to make informed decisions regarding soil management, ultimately enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability.

PES Technologies

Seed Round in 2023
PES Technologies specializes in developing advanced technology for soil health analysis. The company has created a microbe sensor that monitors the biological properties of soil, enabling farmers and agronomists to assess the health of their soil effectively. By analyzing the status of microbial activity, the sensor provides insights into long-term changes in soil health resulting from agricultural practices. This innovative tool equips users with the necessary data to make informed decisions regarding soil management, ultimately enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Outfield

Grant in 2023
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Elaniti

Grant in 2023
Elaniti leverages advances in machine learning and DNA sequencing to enhance soil biology insights for farmers and agronomists, facilitating informed decision-making. The company offers a predictive analytics service that links soil biology to essential crop health outcomes, such as yield, disease prevalence, and nutrient content. This approach enables growers to optimize input efficiency, thereby saving time and costs while promoting environmental sustainability. Elaniti's platform addresses the data gap in soil health by employing a combination of physics, microbiology, and biochemistry to improve crop health and yields. By focusing on the soil microbiome, Elaniti supports the transition to regenerative agriculture, emphasizing the importance of beneficial microbial activity and biodiversity. Through its innovative crop prediction insights, Elaniti aims to highlight the value of soil's complex biological makeup and contribute to a data-driven transition towards Net-Zero agriculture.

Muddy Machines

Grant in 2022
Muddy Machines develops autonomous robots aimed at assisting farms with labor-intensive crops by automating fieldwork. The company initially focuses on its green asparagus harvest technology while planning to expand its capabilities to other crops. Additionally, Muddy Machines is exploring the use of its robotic platform for other labor-intensive tasks, such as weeding and precision applications. The robots utilize computer vision and machine learning to assess crop maturity and perform selective harvesting, ensuring that crops are picked with care to minimize damage. This innovation enables farmers to increase local produce yields and maintain the freshness of their crops.

Muddy Machines

Grant in 2022
Muddy Machines develops autonomous robots aimed at assisting farms with labor-intensive crops by automating fieldwork. The company initially focuses on its green asparagus harvest technology while planning to expand its capabilities to other crops. Additionally, Muddy Machines is exploring the use of its robotic platform for other labor-intensive tasks, such as weeding and precision applications. The robots utilize computer vision and machine learning to assess crop maturity and perform selective harvesting, ensuring that crops are picked with care to minimize damage. This innovation enables farmers to increase local produce yields and maintain the freshness of their crops.

Petiole

Pre Seed Round in 2022
From commercially grown crops to agroforestry, from seed to harvest, track and optimize your plants' growth with ease. Petiole Pro develops innovative tools for its growers community to enable data-driven agriculture, better yields and profits. Try Petiole Pro today and grow smarter.

Outfield

Grant in 2022
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Drone Ag

Grant in 2022
Drone Ag is a UK-based company focused on enhancing agricultural productivity through drone automation and artificial intelligence software. The team comprises farmers, agronomists, drone pilots, and software engineers who leverage their extensive experience from operating drone systems on their own 6,000-acre farm. The company offers a range of services, including drone training courses and user-friendly software solutions. By collecting and analyzing leaf-level crop data, Drone Ag enables farmers to optimize the application of resources, guiding ground machinery and drone sprayers to specific areas of fields at appropriate times. This practical approach to precision agriculture ensures that the company's offerings are grounded in real-world experience, allowing clients to improve their farming practices effectively.

Muddy Machines

Grant in 2021
Muddy Machines develops autonomous robots aimed at assisting farms with labor-intensive crops by automating fieldwork. The company initially focuses on its green asparagus harvest technology while planning to expand its capabilities to other crops. Additionally, Muddy Machines is exploring the use of its robotic platform for other labor-intensive tasks, such as weeding and precision applications. The robots utilize computer vision and machine learning to assess crop maturity and perform selective harvesting, ensuring that crops are picked with care to minimize damage. This innovation enables farmers to increase local produce yields and maintain the freshness of their crops.

Muddy Machines

Grant in 2021
Muddy Machines develops autonomous robots aimed at assisting farms with labor-intensive crops by automating fieldwork. The company initially focuses on its green asparagus harvest technology while planning to expand its capabilities to other crops. Additionally, Muddy Machines is exploring the use of its robotic platform for other labor-intensive tasks, such as weeding and precision applications. The robots utilize computer vision and machine learning to assess crop maturity and perform selective harvesting, ensuring that crops are picked with care to minimize damage. This innovation enables farmers to increase local produce yields and maintain the freshness of their crops.

CropDesk Technologies

Grant in 2021
Cropdesk Technologies is an agricultural technology company incorporated in 2017 by a UK Blueberry farmer. The company builds cloud-based software specifically for the fresh produce farming industry. Its focus is on building an integration platform where every piece of cloud based software used on a modern fresh produce farm can be integrated and talk to each other to produce incredible data to drive farm efficiency and scientific learning

Light Science Technologies Holdings

Grant in 2021
Light Science Technologies Holdings specializes in the development and manufacturing of electronic boards and lighting technology tailored for the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) sector. The company is dedicated to providing innovative solutions that enhance plant monitoring and improve cultivation efficiency, enabling growers to maximize their yields while minimizing resource use. Its primary revenue stream comes from the Contract Electronics Manufacturing segment, where it applies its expertise to support various agricultural applications. Through its focus on research-proven methodologies, Light Science Technologies aims to advance agricultural practices and support sustainable growth within the industry.

Outfield

Grant in 2020
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

EcoNomad Solutions

Grant in 2020
EcoNomad Solutions is an agritech startup focused on enhancing the sustainability of smallholder farming globally. Established in 2018 and headquartered in London, the company provides affordable and reliable solutions for resource management in small farms and rural communities. It specializes in developing small-scale technologies, including anaerobic biodigesters, to address agricultural waste disposal challenges. By converting animal waste into biogas, EcoNomad Solutions enables small farms to generate energy for cooking, heating, and electricity, while also producing organic fertilizer. This innovative approach not only addresses environmental concerns but also creates additional revenue streams for smallholder farmers.

Synnefa

Grant in 2020
Synnefa specializes in creating an integrated ecosystem of smart agricultural solutions, including Smart Greenhouses and Solar Dryers, that utilize advanced IoT technology. Through its FarmShield™ sensors and FarmCloud™ software, Synnefa enables farmers to optimize their farming practices, effectively doubling their incomes on less land while conserving water and minimizing post-harvest losses. Additionally, the company offers an online farm record-keeping platform that enhances crop farming efficiency by providing real-time insights into irrigation needs and soil conditions. This technology allows farmers to manage their operations remotely via mobile devices, ultimately facilitating access to premium markets and improving overall production.

WeFarm

Grant in 2020
WeFarm Limited, established in 2015, operates a unique agricultural platform that facilitates knowledge sharing among small-scale farmers worldwide. The company enables farmers to ask questions and receive crowd-sourced answers via SMS, connecting them with other farmers and relevant agribusinesses or micro-finance institutions. WeFarm's platform is accessible both online and offline, making it particularly useful for farmers with limited internet access. Headquartered in London, the company has field offices in Nairobi, Kampala, and Dar es Salaam, serving farmers across Africa and beyond. WeFarm has been recognized for its innovative approach, receiving awards such as FastCompany's "Africa's Most Innovative Companies" and Google's "Impact Challenge Award."

Outfield

Funding Round in 2019
Outfield is an agritech company focused on transforming orchard management through its precision farming platform. By utilizing unmanned drones and advanced image recognition technology, Outfield collects and analyzes data to deliver actionable insights on key aspects such as fruit counts, blossom mapping, crop load management, and yield forecasting. This innovative approach significantly improves the accuracy of yield estimates, reducing common errors from 20% to less than 10%, thereby enhancing productivity and profitability for growers. The platform processes drone-captured images and returns detailed maps and insights to users within 24 hours, allowing for efficient decision-making. Currently, the service is being tested by growers in the UK, New Zealand, and South Africa, who have praised its flexibility and speed. Outfield aims to scale its operations, expand its offerings, and enter new market segments as it addresses the growing demand for sustainable and efficient fruit farming solutions.

Eagle Genomics

Grant in 2018
Eagle Genomics Ltd., established in 2008, specializes in data management and analysis solutions for the life sciences industry. Based in Cambridge, UK, with offices in the US, Germany, and India, the company caters to healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotech, and personal care sectors. Eagle Genomics offers a suite of services, including NGS data management, analysis, and visualization; cloud computing for bioinformatics; biomarker discovery; and custom software development. Its flagship product, ElasticAP, is a web-based platform for managing life sciences R&D data in the cloud. The company also provides pipeline design services and Eagle On-Demand contracts to assist bioinformatics teams. By leveraging its unique blend of biological, bioinformatics, data science, and enterprise software engineering expertise, Eagle Genomics helps life science companies maximize the value of their R&D data, reducing costs and accelerating research.

HayBeeSee

Pre Seed Round in 2018
HayBeeSee is introducing fundamental change to "agronomy" and farming best-practice utilising state-of-the-art robotics and AI. We are creating a novel robotics platform allowing large daily coverage as well as close proximity sensing and interaction for farmers. The world of agri-tech is fast moving towards precision agriculture & robotics, yet farmers today lack access to any real products that deliver quality data or impact on their farm at all. Meet the CropHopper®, world’s first robot designed for fast and efficient jumping across fields to scan crops, identify weeds (single leaf), aphids & other bugs, early signs of disease, tiller-count, plant count, grain-counts per head as well as to carry out mechanical weeding and spot spraying. Lightweight, jumping all season, even in growing crops. An integrated, full-season management strategy.

Axitan

Seed Round in 2017
Axitan is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of a microalgae-production platform aimed at producing innovative and safe alternatives to conventional antibiotics in animal agriculture. By leveraging algal biotechnology, Axitan seeks to address significant challenges in the industry, including the need for sustainable and resource-efficient production methods. The company focuses on developing a library of endolysins and related products designed to target pathogens that have traditionally been managed through antibiotic supplements in animal feed. This approach not only enhances productivity and production yields but also promotes better animal welfare and environmental protection. Through its initiatives, Axitan strives to facilitate a cost-effective transition away from antibiotics in the livestock sector.

Eagle Genomics

Grant in 2017
Eagle Genomics Ltd., established in 2008, specializes in data management and analysis solutions for the life sciences industry. Based in Cambridge, UK, with offices in the US, Germany, and India, the company caters to healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotech, and personal care sectors. Eagle Genomics offers a suite of services, including NGS data management, analysis, and visualization; cloud computing for bioinformatics; biomarker discovery; and custom software development. Its flagship product, ElasticAP, is a web-based platform for managing life sciences R&D data in the cloud. The company also provides pipeline design services and Eagle On-Demand contracts to assist bioinformatics teams. By leveraging its unique blend of biological, bioinformatics, data science, and enterprise software engineering expertise, Eagle Genomics helps life science companies maximize the value of their R&D data, reducing costs and accelerating research.

AGRIinsight

Grant in 2017
AGRIinsight supports smallholder farmers in emerging markets, international agribusinesses and governmental organisations.

Petiole

From commercially grown crops to agroforestry, from seed to harvest, track and optimize your plants' growth with ease. Petiole Pro develops innovative tools for its growers community to enable data-driven agriculture, better yields and profits. Try Petiole Pro today and grow smarter.
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