Radicle Growth today announced the launch of the Radicle Global Pre-Seed (GPS) Challenge. The GPS Challenge is a competition to identify and invest in the most promising pre-seed Agtech and Foodtech companies in the world and provide access to the Radicle platform. Startups who have attended or are in attendance of an incubator or accelerator are encouraged to apply between now and October 19, 2018.

The goal of the Challenge is to accelerate the development of the best Agtech companies and prepare them for their next round of funding while reducing execution risk for young companies. This Challenge marks the first time in the Agtech/Foodtech industry that multiple pre-seed companies worldwide are being given the opportunity to have their current paid-in capital (up to $150k) matched without an education program or relocation requirement tied to the funding.

From the pool of entrants, ten entries will be selected as finalists by the GPS Challenge's panel of judges and the competition will then open up to a vote to select the winners. Up to three companies will be selected as winners and each will be given up to $150k in funding (funding amount to match each company's incubator/accelerator investment or current paid-in capital). In addition to the capital that companies stand to gain through the GPS Challenge, the winners will also have access to a global Agtech network, connection to Radicle’s venture partners and strategic alliances and access to Radicle’s acceleration platform.

Speaking about the GPS Challenge, Kirk Haney, Managing Partner of Radicle Growth said, “The GPS Challenge isn’t just about capital, it has the opportunity to fundamentally shift the trajectory of a company in their infancy. Winning companies will be given access to a network that a company at that stage wouldn’t typically have access to. We are looking to put capital to work in great companies that will play a role in shaping the future of food and capitalize them to success, without the requirement of taking part in a program. We look forward to accelerating the innovation of the best ideas in agriculture and food.”

Judges of the GPS Challenge include:

• Kirk Haney, Managing Partner, Radicle Growth
• Arama Kukutai, Co-Founder and Partner, Finistere Ventures
• Dan Cosgrove, Global Leader, Corporate Development, Ventures & Licensing, Corteva Agriscience
• Geoff Kneen, R&D Licensing & New Ventures Manager, NA, Bayer CropScience
• Richard Norman, Managing Director, OurCrowd

GroGuru, a winner from the last Radicle Challenge, invented a wireless soil sensor that enables a 100 percent wireless precision soil monitoring systems that monitors, collects and analyzes data in real-time, and provides recommendations to farmers about when and how much to water their crops resulting in optimal soil and water management. The GroGuru system works across all soil and crop types. Speaking on what winning the Challenge meant to them, Patrick Henry, CEO, GroGuru said, “The funding from the Radicle Automation Challenge will enable us to complete the next phase of product development, expand our sales team and increase our manufacturing capacity. Having Radicle in our corner has provided us access to new partners and customers that will accelerate our the deployment of our systems and capture a greater share of this rapidly growing $3 billion market opportunity. Winning this Challenge was a huge boost for GroGuru and couldn’t have come at a better time.”

For more information on the Radicle GPS Challenge, visit http://radicle.vc/the-radicle-challenge/.

About Radicle Growth:
Radicle Growth is a San Diego-based acceleration fund that selects innovative Agtech and Foodtech startups for investment, ensuring that powerful, disruptive technologies reach their full potential. In addition to providing seed-stage capital, they provide a fertile environment for visionaries in the Agtech space to flourish. Their proprietary platform is one of a kind in the agriculture industry, filling a huge void in the market by identifying the most innovative technologies and accelerating them with a range of value-creation initiatives. To connect and learn more about Radicle Growth follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.