SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR THRIVE | BAYER SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE WINNERS

THRIVE | Bayer Sustainable Startup Award

THRIVE | Bayer Sustainable Scaleup Award

People’s Choice Award

What is it?

The THRIVE | Bayer Sustainability Challenge aims to identify and support key startup and scaleup innovators to implement solutions that promote sustainability through reducing the environmental impact of crop protection, reducing field greenhouse gas emissions, and empowering smallholder farmers to access sustainable agricultural solutions. The THRIVE | Bayer Sustainability Challenge combines Bayer Crop Sciences’ sustainability commitments and THRIVE’s Global Initiative focus on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals to promote innovations that can address pressing challenges in the global agrifood chain. If you are a startup or scaleup that helps sustainably solve for one or more of our three focus areas, we want to hear from you!

Focus Areas
REDUCE
GREENHOUSE GASES

How can we advance a carbon-zero future for agriculture in crop production systems?

REDUCE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

How can we produce higher crop yields with lower consumption of natural resources?

EMPOWER
SMALLHOLDER FARMERS

How can we advance smallholder farming systems in socially, environmentally, and commercially responsible ways?

JUDGING PANEL

SPECIAL GUEST

AMBASSADOR MARCIA BERNICAT

Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

MEET OUR FINALISTS

Startups

AGROCOGNITIVE


AgroCognitive is an affordable precision agriculture platform that gives insights to farmers, automates all farming processes, and saves on inputs to get a better harvest.

CLEARLEAF


ClearLeaf develops sustainable crop protection that manages the impacts of harmful pests while maintaining natural balances on the farm and protecting farmers and consumers.

DRONEBEE


DroneBee is developing Dionysus—an app that helps winegrowers to correctly dose pesticides by using UAVs/smartphones and AI algorithms.


Haystack enables soil carbon market scalability by helping farmers and carbon markets quantify carbon accurately and cost-effectively.

PONCE


PONCE empowers growers to meet the food production demands through efficiency with IoT.

VATOREX


Vatorex delivers a digital platform that enables control of the parasitic varroa mite, better bee health, and improved colony management for beekeepers seeking more effective and ecologically positive solutions.

MEET OUR FINALISTS
Scaleups

AUTONOMOUS PIVOT


Autonomous Pivot is revolutionizing row-crop farming by transforming center-pivot irrigation systems into AI-powered farming robots, saving water and money.

GOANNA AG


Goanna Ag uses low-cost sensors and connectivity to optimize water management across the farm and significantly improve on-farm efficiencies for growers.

MAGGROW


MagGrow’s technology significantly reduces waste and drift linked to conventional crop spraying, delivering optimum plant protection.

THINKBIO


Thinkbio is accelerating the transition to more sustainable crop production with Kreotec—a product which delivers a sustainable form of nitrogen to agricultural crops through the use of bacteria.

BENEFITS FOR WINNERS
Startup Winner
INVESTMENT

Receive $75k USD from THRIVE and access the Leaps by Bayer investment team!

ACCESS TO R&D RESOURCES & NETWORKING

Meet with Bayer’s Open Innovation and Strategic Partnerships Group, and access partnership opportunities within THRIVE’s ecosystem

PUBLICITY

Gain brand recognition through Bayer’s channels and through the THRIVE | Forbes Demo Day

AWARD-WINNINGTHRIVE ACCELERATOR

Secure placement in THRIVE’s Accelerator Program in 2022

MENTORSHIP & COACHING

Access Bayer’s technical and/or commercial experts based on your company’s needs and receive focused startup coaching from THRIVE

Scaleup Winner
BAYER PILOT PROJECT SPONSORSHIP

Explore proof-of-concept pilot in impacted sustainability area(s)

ACCESS TO BAYER INVESTMENT AND R&D RESOURCES

Access Bayer’s Open Innovation and Strategic Partnerships Group, and the Leaps by Bayer investment team!

PUBLICITY

Gain brand recognition and achievement through Bayer and THRIVE channels

THRIVE TOP 50 FAST-TRACK

Receive automatic nomination for THRIVE’s TOP 50 AgTech & FoodTech Listings

THRIVE ECOSYSTEM

Be shortlisted for future partnership opportunities with THRIVE’s network

Selection criteria

STARTUPS

  • Pre-Seed (proving technology, building MVP, validating product market fit)

  • Seed (measuring and proving target market and CAC)

SCALEUPS

  • Series A (proving scalability of base business and formalizing business model)

  • Series B (expanding market reach, growing team, bolstering key product offerings)

Selection Process

Timeline

April 14
June 11
july 30th
September 9
Open Applications
Applications Close
Finalists Selected
Pitch Challenge & Awards

Questions?

Contact THRIVE or Bayer!

INTERESTED IN ATTENDING?
Register to attend our Sustainability Challenge