The Beating Heart of Breakthrough Tech & Investment

The Start-Up Arena brings together 45+ pioneering early- and growth-stage start-ups with the agri-food sector’s most active and influential investors for two days of discovery, deal-making, and collaboration.

The Innovation Stage will host rapid-fire pitches and fast-paced discussions, showcasing cutting-edge technology, science-driven solutions and their real-world scaling potential.

This high-energy hub spans an entire floor, and will host 1,700 senior agri-food decision-makers looking to exchange ideas and explore new partnerships to push the boundaries of agri-tech and deeptech – strengthening resilience and security across the global food system.

 

  • The Innovation Stage
  • Watch live pitches
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11:45
  1. Start-Up Arena
    60 mins

    In an agri‑food landscape defined by tight capital markets, micro‑M&A activity, start‑up mergers, and shifting public support, this interactive session explores how founders can assemble a viable capital stack for agri‑tech scale‑up. The discussion will focus on how federal and state‑level programs, venture capital, and alternative financing mechanisms can be strategically blended.

    • How is federal and state government funding evolving, and how can founders combine these non-dilutive sources with venture capital and non‑traditional mechanisms to build a resilient capital stack?
    • What real‑world examples are emerging? Which new agri‑tech programs are rolling out nationwide and in states such as California? How are they being paired with other funding streams, and what impacts might they have on the agri‑food innovation ecosystem?
    • What role is corporate venture capital playing in today’s agri‑tech market, and how are corporates evaluating opportunities, strategic fit, and risk to invest in, acquire, and partner with start-ups?
    • In a rapid‑fire format, we will break down the different elements of the evolving capital stack and pinpoint which funding combinations are most viable in today’s constrained market.
13:45
  1. Start-Up Arena
    50 mins
    Join a high-energy, rapid-fire pitching session of the industry's most exciting entrepreneurs. The companies in this group are united by their use of cutting‑edge biotechnology across inputs and genetics to improve crop protection and plant performance. They develop innovative biocontrol, biostimulant and bionutrition agents, as well as next‑gen breeding tools and gene‑editing platforms.  Others supply enabling biomanufacturing infrastructure that transforms lab‑scale biotech innovations into commercial products.
14:35
  1. Start-Up Arena
    40 mins
    These growth‑stage innovators are advancing high‑impact technologies across data science, biologicals, and ecosystem resilience. Their work spans cutting‑edge AI tools, precision microbial and soil‑health solutions, and biocontrols that protect and regenerate ecosystems. Together, they represent a cohort translating deep science into scalable, market‑ready solutions that enhance agri-food productivity and resilience. 
15:45
  1. Start-Up Arena
    40 mins
    Join a high-energy, rapid-fire pitching session of the industry's most exciting entrepreneurs. Start-ups in this group focus on strengthening the sustainability and resilience of global food systems through  precision and monitoring technologies, circular‑economy innovations, and resource‑efficiency solutions. Together, these innovators are building a climate-smart, productive, and future‑proofed food ecosystem.
16:25
  1. Start-Up Arena
    40 mins
    Join a high-energy, rapid-fire pitching session of the industry's most exciting entrepreneurs. This group captures start-ups building the digital backbone of modern agriculture through advanced sensing, automation, AI modeling, and robotics. Their shared focus is enabling smarter, faster, and more precise decision‑making across farms by combining real‑time data streams with intelligent analytics to  operate more efficiently, reduce risk, and increase productivity.
10:50
  1. Start-Up Arena
    40 mins
    Join a high-energy, rapid-fire pitching session of the industry's most exciting entrepreneurs. This group features innovators developing transformative biotechnologies that push the boundaries of what’s possible in modern agriculture. These start‑ups harness cutting‑edge advances in biologicals and genetics to enhance plant development, soil health, and farm resilience. 
14:10
  1. 50 mins
    Join a high-energy, rapid-fire pitching session of the industry's most exciting entrepreneurs. This group gathers start‑ups building high‑impact tools that bring greater accuracy, efficiency, and predictability to agricultural production. Their technologies empower farmers with more precise control over resources and inputs, as well as improved performance insights.
15:00
  1. Start-Up Arena
    10 mins
Join the Start-Up Arena

Get your business in front of active investors at World Agri-Tech in San Francisco.