AgriFoodInnovation

What AgriFoodInnovation does

AgriFoodInnovation is a non-profit, publicly funded innovation network and acceleration program based in Noordoost-Brabant, Netherlands, operating under the project leadership of AgriFood Capital BV with a small core team of five personnel. Founded via a kick-off on May 13, 2019 and formalized through the Regio Deal Noordoost Brabant signed July 10, 2020, the program was initiated by four founding partners — TU/e (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), WUR (Wageningen University & Research), HAS Hogeschool (HAS green academy), and ZLTO (Zuidelijke Land- en Tuinbouworganisatie) — alongside regional development organizations Brainport Development, REWIN West-Brabant, BOM, and the Province of Noord-Brabant. Its mission is to bridge the agrifood sector with high tech, ICT, and data by acting as an independent coordination layer that connects farmers, technology companies, knowledge institutions, and government actors that would not otherwise collaborate.

The program is structured around three moonshots — Slimme Varkensketen (Smart Pig Chain), Digitale Gewasketen (Digital Crop Chain), and Verwaarding Plantaardige Stromen (Valorization of Plant Streams) — each containing multiple business cases that combine agrifood domain knowledge with high-tech, AI, and sensor capabilities. Documented technical outputs include PixelFarming Robotics' Robot One autonomous solar-powered weeding robot (14 depth-perception cameras, dual GPS, first series production 2023, 80+ companies on the global waiting list), the Van den Borne precision agriculture dashboard (machine, satellite, soil-scan, and biomass data across 120+ farmers), the Slimme Stal climate sensor monitoring 100+ pig barns 24/7, a NIR hyper-spectral camera at Vion slaughter lines inspecting 1,300 carcasses per hour, and Spectrik's photonic ammonia sensor. PixelFarming Robotics was recognized in the KVK Innovation Top 100 in 2021 as a partner milestone.

AgriFoodInnovation has no commercial product revenue; its financial model is the >40M EUR Regio Deal envelope (10M from national government, ~18M from municipalities and province, and private sector contributions) distributed over a four-year window (2020-2024) across partners and business cases, with the program's own operating budget supporting coordination, communication, and program management. The four-year program formally concluded in December 2024 with a slotmagazine launch, and the organization has announced it will continue as a permanent 'catalyst and flywheel' (aanjager en vliegwiel) for the agrifood-high tech crossover, pending a new Regio Deal application with a decision expected in February 2025.

Name

AgriFoodInnovation

Legal name

AgriFoodInnovation

Website

https://agrifoodinnovation.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AgriFoodInnovation is a non-profit, publicly funded innovation network operating in Noordoost-Brabant, Netherlands, that orchestrates cross-sector collaboration between agrifood companies, high-tech firms, knowledge institutions, and government across three moonshot programs — Smart Pig Chain, Digital Crop Chain, and Plant Stream Valorization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Innovation Network Services

NAICS

Crop Production (111)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Farm Management & Decision Support Software (FMIS, ERP, Recordkeeping) (AFAGALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) & Digital Recordkeeping (AFABAMAD), Pest/Disease/Weed Detection & Forecasting Analytics (AFABAMAI), Decision Support & Agronomic Modeling (Yield, Irrigation, Pest/Disease Forecasting) (AFAAAFAF), Data Integration, Interoperability & APIs (ETL, Data Standards, Connectivity Hubs) (AFABAMAL), Field Mapping, GIS & Digital Agronomy (Zoning, Prescription Maps, Yield Maps, Spatial Analytics) (AFAGALAG), Farm Technology Enablement & Data Integration Advisory (FMIS/ERP, IoT, Decision Support) (AFACAJAG)

Keywords

• Agrifood innovation network
• Precision agriculture programs
• Smart farming acceleration
• Agritech cross-over collaboration
• Food chain innovation

Headquarters

HQ city

Noordoost-Brabant

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Funding / Regio Deal: AgriFoodInnovation is a publicly funded innovation program supported by Regio Deal Noordoost Brabant, the province of Noord-Brabant, and national government. The four-year program began in 2020 with funding exceeding 40 million euros from regional, provincial, and national government combined with private sector contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AgriFoodInnovation is a result-oriented innovation network and acceleration program that connects the Dutch agrifood sector with high tech, ICT, and data companies. It organizes activity around three moonshots — Slimme Varkensketen, Digitale Gewasketen, and Verwaarding Plantaardige Stromen — each containing concrete business cases such as Autonome Akker, Slimmer Telen, Sturen op Kwaliteit, and Sturen op Diergezondheid. The organization coordinates collaboration, talent development, and knowledge sharing among farmers, technology firms, knowledge institutions, and regional government.

Product overview

AgriFoodInnovation is a result-oriented network for business development and acceleration that connects the AgriFood chain with high tech, ICT, and data. Rather than a single product, it operates a portfolio of innovation programs (moonshots) containing multiple business cases. The three main moonshots are: (1) Slimme Varkensketen (Smart Pig Chain) with business cases for quality control and animal health monitoring; (2) Digitale Gewasketen (Digital Crop Chain) with business cases for autonomous farming and smarter cultivation; and (3) Verwaarding Plantaardige Stromen (Valorization of Plant Streams). Key technology products emerging from these programs include PixelFarming Robotics' Robot One (autonomous weed control robot), the Van den Borne precision agriculture dashboard (data aggregation platform), the Slimme Stal climate sensor for pig barns, and Spectrik's photonic ammonia sensor. The organization functions as an innovation catalyst, facilitating collaboration between agrifood companies, high-tech firms, knowledge institutions, and government.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Slimme Varkensketen (Smart Pig Chain) Moonshot Innovation moonshot program focused on system breakthroughs across the pork production, processing, and sales chain through demand-driven chains starting with consumer needs. Contains business cases for quality control (NIR hyper-spectral camera) and animal health monitoring (climate sensors). Designed for farmers, processors, and tech partners in the Dutch pork value chain.
• Digitale Gewasketen (Digital Crop Chain) Moonshot Moonshot program connecting farmers, technology suppliers, processors, and consumers through ICT (data, AI, robotics) to achieve sustainable production and better revenue models. Focuses on precision farming with soil-centered approaches for environmental, climate, food safety, and energy objectives.
• Verwaarding Plantaardige Stromen (Valorization of Plant Streams) Moonshot Moonshot focused on extracting high-value ingredients and products from residual and processing streams of carrots and other plant materials, where these side streams represent higher value than the primary product. Includes development of drying and extraction technology.
• Autonome Akker (Autonomous Field) Business Case Business case within the Digital Crop Chain moonshot focused on developing, demonstrating, and commercializing robots for mechanical weed control. Led by PixelFarming Robotics with the Robot One, targeting organic agriculture initially due to chemical restrictions, with ambitions to cover more than 80 percent of agricultural land in North Brabant without chemical weed control within 10 years.
• Slimmer Telen (Smarter Cultivation) Business Case Business case providing practical guidance and training for farmers to cultivate smarter using high tech and ICT. Led by Jacob van den Borne with an online dashboard aggregating satellite data, soil scans, biomass maps, and sensor data for data-driven farming decisions across 120+ participating farmers.
• Sturen op Kwaliteit (Quality Control) Business Case Business case within the Smart Pig Chain implementing a payment system that controls fat quality through NIR hyper-spectral camera technology at slaughter lines, enabling better revenue models for farmers through data-driven chain integration. Measures fat content of 1,300 pig carcasses per hour inline.
• Sturen op Diergezondheid (Animal Health Control) Business Case Business case within the Smart Pig Chain using transparency and real-time climate measurements in barns combined with technical measurement methods at slaughter lines to improve farm operations, animal welfare, and connection with consumers. Over 100 farmers measure and control barn climate 24/7 with smart sensors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80 companies worldwide on waiting list for Robot One autonomous farming robot
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Pixelfarming RoboticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Lead partner of Autonome Akker business case. Developed Robot One autonomous farming robot with 80+ companies on global waiting list. Located at Campus Almkerk.
• Jacob van den Borne / VDBorne CampuscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Lead partner of Slimmer Telen business case. Developed precision agriculture dashboard used by 120+ farmers. Operates Praktijkcentrum voor Precisielandbouw and VDBorne Campus.
• Vion Food GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Lead partner in Slimme Varkensketen business cases (Sturen op kwaliteit and Sturen op diergezondheid). Provides slaughter and processing infrastructure for pig chain innovations.
• Connecting Agri&FoodmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Project coordination partner for Slimme Varkensketen business cases. Led by Angela van der Sanden, specialist in Smart Farming and animal health.
• Topigs NorsvinmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Pig genetics company partner in Sturen op kwaliteit business case, contributing genetic data and breeding expertise for fat quality optimization.
• Hendrix GeneticsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Animal genetics partner in Sturen op diergezondheid business case, working on data-driven improvements in pig health and welfare.
• Fransen GerritsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Animal feed company partner in Sturen op kwaliteit project, conducting feed trials to optimize fat quality through nutrition.
• SpectriksupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Startup developing photonic ammonia sensor for stable climate monitoring. Supported by AgriFoodInnovation through business development, knowledge, and network.
• Agristo, Aviko, Peka Kroef, Lamb Weston, DuyniesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Dutch potato processing companies collaborating on sustainability innovations including water reduction and nutrient valorization in the potato processing industry.
• JADS (Jheronimus Academy of Data Science)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Data science education institution in Den Bosch. Partners on AI and data innovation meet-ups and hackathons for the agrifood sector.
• TU/e (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020One of four founding knowledge institution partners that initiated AgriFoodInnovation in 2020. Provides technological expertise and research capabilities at the intersection of agrifood and high tech.
• WUR (Wageningen Universiteit & Research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020One of four founding knowledge institution partners. Provides agricultural research expertise and leads the Wageningen Data Competence Center programs that connect with AgriFoodInnovation.
• HAS Hogeschool (HAS green academy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020One of four founding knowledge institution partners. Provides applied research and education in green sciences and technology.
• ZLTO (Zuidelijke Land- en Tuinbouworganisatie)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020One of four founding agricultural organization partners representing farmers and horticulturists in the southern Netherlands.
• AgriFood Capital BVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Responsible for project leadership of AgriFoodInnovation. Manages the program and coordinates with regional development organizations. Directed by Sander Groenen.
• Brainport Development NVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Regional development organization for Brainport area, partner in implementing the Regio Deal and supporting innovation projects.
• REWIN West-BrabantcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Regional development organization for West-Brabant, partner in project execution and business support.
• BOM (Brabantse Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Brabant Development Agency, partner in supporting innovation and economic development projects in the region.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• StartLife: Wageningen-based agrifood-tech startup accelerator and innovation hub, founded by Wageningen University. Comparable as a Dutch agrifood crossover catalyst supporting early-stage ventures with similar network effects and university backing.
• Foodvalley: Dutch regional food innovation network connecting companies, research institutes, and government to accelerate agrifood innovation. Directly comparable in mission, public funding model, and cross-sector broker role to AgriFoodInnovation.

Emerging players

• Carbon Robotics: US-based developer of autonomous laser weeding robots for row crops. Comparable emerging player in the autonomous mechanical/laser weed control space that AgriFoodInnovation's Robot One also targets.
• Small Robot Company: UK-based agritech startup building autonomous field robots for arable farming, including precision weeding. Comparable emerging player in autonomous agricultural robotics overlapping with PixelFarming Robotics' Robot One.
• Agworld: Agricultural decision support and farm management platform enabling data-driven planning, records, and agronomic recommendations. Comparable niche precision agriculture SaaS serving similar farmer use cases as the Slimmer Telen business case.
• Naio Technologies: French agricultural robotics company developing autonomous weeding robots for chemical-free farming. Directly comparable to PixelFarming Robotics' Robot One emerging from AgriFoodInnovation's Autonome Akker business case.

Broad incumbents

• Trimble Agriculture: Established provider of precision agriculture hardware, software, and data services including FMIS, GPS guidance, and farm analytics. Comparable as an incumbent in the precision agriculture and farm data integration space that AgriFoodInnovation's network facilitates.
• Climate FieldView (Bayer): Global precision agriculture platform from Bayer that aggregates field, machine, and satellite data into dashboards for data-driven farming decisions. Comparable in product offering (the Van den Borne dashboard concept) but operates as a large commercial SaaS rather than a non-profit network.
• John Deere Operations Center: John Deere's connected farm platform integrating machine, field, and agronomic data for precision farming. Comparable as a major incumbent precision agriculture platform integrating the same data types (machine, satellite, soil) as the Van den Borne dashboard.
• Granular (Corteva): Farm management and decision support software acquired by Corteva, providing FMIS, agronomic insights, and operational planning for farmers. Comparable as an incumbent farm management software platform similar in scope to the Van den Borne dashboard.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agrifoodinnovation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AgriFoodInnovation