Ag Startup Engine
Ag Startup Engine is an Ames, Iowa-based early-stage agtech seed fund and accelerator founded in 2016 at Iowa State University Research Park, deploying $25K–$100K checks into Midwest agricultural technology startups alongside mentorship, office space, and a network of farmer-LPs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersAmes, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ag Startup Engine does
Ag Startup Engine (ASE), operating as Ag Startup Engine Fund LLC and managed by Ag Startup Engine Manager LLC, is an Ames, Iowa-based early-stage agricultural technology investment fund and accelerator founded in late 2016 at the Iowa State University Research Park. The organization deploys pre-seed and seed capital of $25,000–$100,000 into Midwest-rooted agtech startups and supplements the check with mentorship, office space at ISU Research Park, talent acquisition assistance, and curated introductions to a network of agricultural industry leaders. Portfolio companies span livestock monitoring and animal health (Distynct, VetMeasure, Mazen Animal Health, Bovi-Jet, Stockguard, Birds Eye Robotics), soil and crop technology (Continuum Ag, N-Sense, ReEnvision Ag, Salin 247), equipment and robotics (TRIC Robotics, Smart Ag), marketplaces and data (Tractor Zoom, FarmlandFinder, ChopLocal, PropelMapper), and emerging industrial biotech (Fermeate), with 24 companies backed across three funds and three realized exits (SmartAg/Raven Industries 2019, Performance Livestock Analytics, Harrisvaccines/Merck Animal Health 2015). Three seed funds have been raised to date — Fund I and Fund II (2016–2021) and a $7 million Fund III closed in March 2026 — with cumulative portfolio follow-on capital exceeding $30 million and 140+ high-tech jobs created across portfolio companies.
ASE's business model is structured as a traditional emerging-manager seed fund: the firm raises capital from a hand-selected LP base of farmers, agribusiness operators, lenders, and industry executives (Summit Agricultural Group, Ag Leader, Hertz Farm Management, Veridian Credit Union, Next Level Ventures, Iowa Farm Bureau's Renewal Rural Iowa, Ag Ventures Alliance, Peoples Company, Kent Corporation, Beck's Hybrids, and others) and earns returns through equity appreciation and follow-on financings rather than licensing or SaaS revenue. Revenue mechanics rely on management fees and potential carried interest on the deployed funds; no management fee schedule, revenue, or AUM is disclosed in available data. Ancillary, non-revenue-generating programs reinforce deal flow and brand: the Cultivator Grant Program ($500–$2,000 non-dilutive grants to pre-seed startups), the annual Building Global from the Ground Up Ag Innovators Unconference, and a sponsor network of professional services firms (Lincoln Savings Bank, LWBJ, Davis Brown/Dentons, Northwest Bank, UHY, Fredrikson Law, Roboflow, Oasis/Paychex, High Yield Strategies) that provide banking, legal, audit, HR, and technology resources to portfolio companies.
The platform is led by Executive Director Joel Harris (founder of Harrisvaccines, sold to Merck Animal Health in 2015; co-founder/CEO of Genvax Technologies), Co-Director Colin Hurd (founder of Smart Ag, acquired by Raven Industries in 2019; now CEO of Mach), Co-Director Kevin Kimle (Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at ISU and Director of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative), and Venture Partner Mikayla Mooney (founder of KinoSol; first hire at ISA Ventures, a $22M seed-stage fund). The fund operates with a deliberately slow, multi-year capital deployment cadence of approximately five years per fund, justified by longer agricultural product development cycles. ASE is privately held, headquartered at 2500 North Loop Drive, Suite 7546, Ames, IA 50010, and was recognized with the LWBJ Impact Award at the 2021 Prometheus Awards. In 2026, Fund III was closed with international LP expansion to Brazil, alongside portfolio investments in a South African ag advisor platform (PropelMapper) and a U.S.-based precision fermentation company (Fermeate).
Ag Startup Engine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ag Startup Engine
- Legal name
- Ag Startup Engine Fund LLC
- Website
- https://agstartupengine.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Ag Startup Engine is an Ames, Iowa-based early-stage agtech seed fund and accelerator founded in 2016 at Iowa State University Research Park, deploying $25K–$100K checks into Midwest agricultural technology startups alongside mentorship, office space, and a network of farmer-LPs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ag Startup Engine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AgTech Venture Capital / Startup Accelerator
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs (FSANAHAD)
Keywords
Where Ag Startup Engine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ames
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ag Startup Engine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Investment Returns: Ag Startup Engine generates returns through equity investments in early-stage agricultural technology startups. They invest $25,000-$100,000 in portfolio companies and benefit from follow-on funding rounds and exits.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Early seed investment with mentorship and network access |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Ag Startup Engine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ag Startup Engine is a pre-seed and seed-stage investment fund and accelerator for early-stage agricultural technology startups. It deploys early seed capital of $25,000–$100,000 per portfolio company alongside mentorship from founder-operators, office space at the ISU Research Park, talent acquisition support, and access to a curated network of agricultural entrepreneurs, investors, and industry partners. The fund is exclusively backed by agricultural industry leaders and emphasizes slow, intentional multi-year capital deployment aligned with agriculture's longer development cycles.
Product overview
Ag Startup Engine is an early-stage agricultural technology investment and accelerator program, not a software product company. It operates three core offerings: (1) The Seed Investment Program providing $25,000-$100,000 early-stage funding along with mentorship and network access; (2) The Cultivator Grant Program offering non-dilutive grants of $500-$2,000 for pre-seed startups; and (3) The Unconference annual event for the agtech ecosystem. The organization serves as a bridge between early-stage agricultural startups and investors, focusing on Midwest innovation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cultivator Grant Program: Non-dilutive grant program providing up to $2,000 to agriculture and food startups to help founders reach investment readiness
- Building Global from the Ground Up Ag Innovators Unconference
Products and services
- Seed Investment Program
- Cultivator Grant Program
Quantifiable outcome
- 140+ high-tech jobs created by portfolio companies
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Ag Startup Engine
Customer profileNamed customers28 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Ag Startup Engine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Ag Startup Engine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered portfolio company, sponsor, silver planter sponsor and core.
- Fermeateportfolio companyIndustrial biotech company using optogenetics for precision fermentation. Ag Startup Engine is a participant investor in Fermeate's $2M seed round led by Newfund Capital.
- PropelMapperportfolio companySouth African startup building an agricultural advisor operating system. Received investment from Ag Startup Engine and is raising a US$1.5M seed round.
- RoboflowsponsorComputer vision platform sponsor providing tools for building and deploying computer vision applications, valuable for portfolio companies in agricultural automation.
- High Yield StrategiessponsorBipartisan public affairs and government affairs consulting company specializing in agriculture, energy and biotechnology.
- Oasis (Paychex Company)silver planter sponsorSilver Planter Sponsor, leading PEO providing HR solutions including employee benefits, compliance, and HR administration to help startups manage human capital.
- Iowa State University Agricultural Entrepreneurship InitiativecoreKevin Kimle serves as Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University and Director of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative, connecting ASE with university resources and talent.
- Iowa State University Research ParkcoreASE is located in the ISU Research Park, providing office space and access to university resources and talent pipeline.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ag Startup Engine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SVG Ventures / THRIVE AgTech: SVG Ventures (rebranded THRIVE) is a leading global agrifood-tech accelerator and venture fund. Both ASE and THRIVE run accelerator-style seed programs targeting early-stage agtech founders with mentorship and corporate partner access, making them the closest direct peer in category and stage.
- The Yield Lab: The Yield Lab operates a global network of early-stage agtech accelerators (St. Louis HQ, plus Argentina, Brazil, Ireland, Africa). Directly comparable as an early-stage agtech investor offering mentorship, capital, and a corporate partner network to seed-stage founders.
- Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator: Techstars' Farm to Fork program is a dedicated accelerator for food/agtech startups. Both offer 3-month mentorship-driven accelerator cohorts with seed investment and corporate partner connections in agriculture and food.
- ISA Ventures: ISA Ventures is a $22M Iowa-based seed-stage fund explicitly mentioned as the prior employer of Mikayla Mooney. Directly comparable as a Midwest/Iowa seed investor serving similar founder profiles and leveraging Iowa ecosystem ties.
- Next Level Ventures: Next Level Ventures is an Iowa-based seed/early-stage fund that is itself an LP in ASE. Comparable in stage, geography, and sector breadth, operating a similar size of capital and targeting Midwest early-stage companies.
- Iowa Startup Accelerator: Iowa Startup Accelerator is a Des Moines-based accelerator program serving Iowa and Midwest founders with mentorship and seed capital. Directly comparable as a regional accelerator targeting early-stage companies, though less agtech-focused than ASE.
- gener8tor: gener8tor runs multiple accelerators across the Midwest (including in Iowa) with seed investment and a 12-week mentorship program. Comparable as a Midwest seed-stage accelerator with similar ticket sizes and structure, though sector-agnostic rather than agtech-focused.
- Plug and Play AgTech: Plug and Play runs an AgTech vertical within its broader startup accelerator platform, connecting early-stage ag startups with corporate partners. Comparable as an investor-led accelerator specifically targeting agtech founders with corporate partnership channels.
Broad incumbents
- S2G Ventures: S2G is a multi-stage agrifood-tech investment firm with significantly larger fund sizes. Comparable in thematic focus on agtech and food innovation but operates as a broader incumbent, investing across seed, venture, and growth stages.
- Leaps by Bayer: Leaps by Bayer is Bayer's corporate venture arm with significant agtech investment activity across all stages. Comparable as a deep-pocketed investor in agtech innovation, though operating as a strategic corporate investor rather than an independent accelerator.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ag Startup Engine social profiles
Digital presenceAg Startup Engine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ag Startup Engine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Ag Startup Engine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ag Startup Engine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments28 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ag Startup Engine
What does Ag Startup Engine do?
Ag Startup Engine is a pre-seed and seed-stage investment fund and accelerator for early-stage agricultural technology startups. It deploys early seed capital of $25,000–$100,000 per portfolio company alongside mentorship from founder-operators, office space at the ISU Research Park, talent acquisition support, and access to a curated network of agricultural entrepreneurs, investors, and industry partners. The fund is exclusively backed by agricultural industry leaders and emphasizes slow, intentional multi-year capital deployment aligned with agriculture's longer development cycles.
Is Ag Startup Engine a public or private company?
Ag Startup Engine is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Ag Startup Engine founded?
Ag Startup Engine was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Ag Startup Engine based?
Ag Startup Engine is headquartered in Ames, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ag Startup Engine make money?
One revenue line is on record: investment Returns.
Who are Ag Startup Engine's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SVG Ventures / THRIVE AgTech, The Yield Lab, Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator, ISA Ventures, Next Level Ventures, Iowa Startup Accelerator, gener8tor and Plug and Play AgTech. Broad incumbents are S2G Ventures and Leaps by Bayer.
Does Ag Startup Engine have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ag Startup Engine.
What industry is Ag Startup Engine in?
Ag Startup Engine's product category is AgTech Venture Capital / Startup Accelerator. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAHAD, Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs.