Enzootic Ltd. has won the best AgTech (Agricultural Technology) company competition of the 4th AgriVest meeting held last month at the Weizmann Institute of Science, beating out more than 40 other companies. This year’s conference attracted some of the key figures of the international agriculture industry, bringing together upcoming AgTech companies with investors, leading agriculture companies and government representatives from across the world. Hundreds of investors and global agriculture experts from 20 countries attended.
The highlight of the conference was a competition between 12 Israeli start-ups that presented the newest innovations in Israel’s agricultural technology. The companies were selected by a professional, independent committee headed by Dr. Avi Perl, Chief Scientist at the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture from more than 40 companies that vied for the privilege of exhibiting at the conference. During the event the start-ups were assessed and graded by participants with prizes awarded to the companies with the most points — based on a weighted calculation of votes from the audience and judges during the day.
The winning start-up was Enzootic, developing a platform for crustacean aquaculture. Enzootic is an agro-biotech company founded in 2012 by a multidisciplinary team of industry and academic leaders whose vision is to introduce the latest advances in life science research into crustacean aquaculture and ecological bio-control.
Department of Life Sciences member Prof. Amir Sagi is co-founder and CTO. Sagi is a former dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
The conference is an initiative of Trendlines Agtech, Invest in Israel, the investment promotion center at the Israel Ministry of Economy & Industry and GreenSoil Investments, an Israeli VC focused on agro & food tech investments. Some 450 businesspeople, entrepreneurs, government officials, scientists, and investors from Israel and abroad attended the conference.
In her opening remarks, Nitza Kardish, CEO of Trendlines Agtech, said: “We have instituted an event that is not only an integral part of the Israeli agtech landscape, but may well have the power to influence the agriculture of the future. The AgriVest conference is a unique platform for Israeli start-ups and entrepreneurs to meet with investors and key people in the global agricultural industry, with an eye to reveal the potential of investing in innovative developments.”
