by Peter Wren-Hilton | Jun 11, 2023 | 2023 Salinas Biological Summit
With just over a week to go, we are delighted to share the news that we are just 25 tickets short of a SELL OUT inaugural 2023 Salinas Biological Summit. Last week, we were also stoked to announce that the International Central Valley Farm Tour on 22-23 June had SOLD OUT.
When Wharf42 sat down with the Western Growers Innovation & Technology Center (WGITC) before last year’s 2035 Oceania Summit, we agreed to organize a biological-focused Summit with a strong focus on producers and growers. As regulators and retailers around the world are talking about ‘less chemistry and more biology’, we believed that this focus was increasingly important. It appears that our thinking resonated with others.
Over 30 exhibitors will now be showcasing their research and commercial applications in the biological space. Almost 50 speakers will be discussing the opportunity from a range of different stakeholder perspectives. You can view the final Summit Program here.
Next Monday (19 June), Wharf42 will be co-hosting the Global Biological Accelerator Workshop in Salinas with our friends at WGITC. We agreed last year that whilst hosting next week’s inaugural Summit was a great first step, it was not by itself a long-term play. That opportunity would come through the build of a Global Accelerator which would leverage field trials, investment and mentoring to scale high growth startups in this space.
As New Zealand’s primary sector prepares for National Fieldays this week, Jacqui and I will be heading across to California as we make final preparations for next week’s Summit. Whilst missing National Fieldays (our first miss in 8 years) is unfortunate, it’s comforting to know that we will be joined by 40 Kiwis and Aussies in Salinas.
We’ll update on how the Summit develops through both this website and Wharf42’s social media channels.
The next two weeks are going to be a blast!
by Peter Wren-Hilton | May 29, 2023 | 2023 Salinas Biological Summit
We are excited to share the news that the team at the Mixing Bowl will be sharing their Global Biological Landscape Map at the 2023 Salinas Biological Summit. This visualization will be a world first.
Whilst investor interest in the agriculture biological space has grown exponentially, the lack of a publicly available list of ‘who’s who’ in the sector has made detailed sector analysis a challenge. The Mixing Bowl’s Global Biological Landscape Map has been designed to address this.
The Map will be shared during the Day 1 lunchbreak on Tuesday 20 June. It is an exciting development which will also assist identify potential candidates for the Global Biological Accelerator which is being launched at next month’s Salinas Summit.
If you are a researcher, entrepreneur or investor looking to understand the global biological landscape, this is one opportunity you will not want to miss.
For more details about the Salinas Summit Program, please visit Program | Wharf42 Limited (salinas-summit.com)
To purchase a Summit ticket, please visit 2023 Salinas Biological Summit | Humanitix
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Apr 5, 2023 | 2023 Salinas Biological Summit
We are delighted to finally share the news that a key outcome of the 2023 Salinas Biological Summit will be the launch of the Global Biological Accelerator.
In extensive discussions with key sector stakeholders over the past few months, interest in building a Global Biological Accelerator program has been universally endorsed. The Accelerator’s founding stakeholder group identified some key drivers:
- The demand from regulators and consumers for ‘more biology, less chemistry’ is growing exponentially
- The sector requires a dedicated Accelerator to help scale qualified start-ups to build capability and capacity
- The Accelerator should be global in reach to capture ‘best of breed’ participants
- The Accelerator would target key global grower trial networks to enable its members to test solutions with different crops, in different growing environments, against measureable metrics
- Growers should play a key role in the innovation process to ensure effective commercial delivery and adoption.
The Global Biological Accelerator will be based out of the Western Growers Innovation & Technology Center in Salinas.
It’s model however will have a very significant global virtual component. To enable innovators everywhere to participate 100% in the Accelerator program, the program format will make full use of available online tools to support participant engagement.
One additional key driver. To accelerate the impact of Grower Trial Networks, the Accelerator will leverage the counter-seasonal opportunity offered by northern and southern hemisphere growing seasons. This will enable Accelerator participants to trial solutions across two growing seasons per year. This will accelerate R&D and the timeframe for its commercialisation.
Each trial will be monitored by local partners to ensure that trial results are formally qualified. This will provide real-time feedback to the innovators engaged in the program to assist plan their work and process.
The Global Biological Accelerator will be supported by an Investment Committee. This Committee will identify the Accelerator’s participants during the selection process as well as provide mentoring and advise around assessing and accessing capital and capability requirements. The Committee will use its extensive network reach to assist scale Accelerator cohort members.
To quote veteran Silicon Valley VC, Bill Reichert: ‘Building a start-up has never been cheaper. Scaling one has never been more expensive’. The Investment Committee will include experienced members of the global biological ecosystem and venture capital sector to provide the range of advice needed.
To support innovators, investors and key stakeholders learn more about the opportunity, we’ll be organising in-person workshops that will enable the Accelerator founding stakeholder group to provide more detail about the Program structure, as well as receive feedback from Summit delegates.
These will take place on Monday 19 June in Salinas, immediately prior to the main Summit. We’ll post an update on this and the Summit website, closer to that date with more details about the venue and agenda.
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Mar 27, 2023 | 2023 Salinas Biological Summit
At last October’s 2035 Oceania Summit, New Zealand Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) Secretary, Karen Ross, signed a joint Letter of Intent. The LOI was designed to increase the level of agrifood tech collaboration between New Zealand & California, specifically in the areas of ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’.
Next Thursday, New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries and the CDFA are hosting a joint webinar to advance the purpose of the LOI. One key objective is to promote the 2023 Salinas Biological Summit which illustrates how New Zealand and California can work together.
You can view next week’s webinar via this public ZOOM link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85364223336
Passcode: #AgTech23
Webinar ID: 853 6422 3336
The Agenda: Thursday April 6th – All times NZT
9:00am Welcoming & Introductions
9:05am California & New Zealand Government
- Steve Kelly, Manager, Market Access North Asia and Americas, Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand
- Tawny Mata, Director, Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, California Department of Food & Agriculture
9:15am Importance of Agri-Food-Tech (15m Panel Discussion)
- Dennis Donahue, Director, Western Growers Innovation & Technology Center
- Peter Wren-Hilton, Founder & CEO, Wharf42
9:30am Perspectives from California & New Zealand
- Ed Massey, General Manager, NZ Winegrowers
- Allison Jordan, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
10:00am A Lighter Touch – Future of Farming
- Julie Henderson, California Sustainable Pest Management – Director, California Department of Pesticide Regulation
- Livia Esterhazy, Programme Director, A Lighter Touch
10:30am Closing Remarks/END
Next week’s webinar will highlight some of the emerging opportunities being identified to accelerate the purpose of the LOI. In June, the 2023 Salinas Biological Summit provides a platform for growers, researchers, entrepreneurs and policy-makers to meet and engage with peers from around the world.
We hope you can join us next Thursday to learn more.
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Mar 27, 2023 | International
Last Tuesday, Jacqui and I revisited the Plug & Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale. It had been our Silicon Valley home for large chunks of time between 2010-2015. It was good to be back.
Whilst the address had not changed, the campus’s interior had. A new Events Center had been built on the ground floor and the reception area featured many more corporate partner logos than during our last visit in 2018. It reflects a clear change in direction for some of the Center’s thinking and strategy. This is seeing a much greater focus on corporate partner engagement and certain key technology verticals. Food & agritech is one.
The other big change over the past few years is Plug & Play’s offshore presence. It now has offices in over 40 locations. Sadly, Oceania (New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands) are not part of this mix. Given that the region is home to a number of ‘unicorns’ – Atlassian, Xero, Canva, Culture Amp, Go1, LinkTree, Safety Culture, to name a few, it’s a missing piece in the region’s wider tech ecosystem. The flipside however, wearing my WNT Ventures hat, is that the number of local and global venture funds located in, or relocating to the region, is increasing. Investment activity over the past few years into high growth local technology firms has never been greater.
As we head back to the Bay area for June’s 2023 Salinas Biological Summit, it will be interesting to see how Plug & Play’s work in the food & agritech space develops. Their corporate partner engagement strategy will play a key part in this. It’s a playbook that has been rinsed and repeated. With over 30 unicorns on their own investment portfolio playlist, it’s a strategy that pays off.
Despite the rain and wind that met us on North Wolfe Road as we arrived at the Center, many thanks to Willian Li (pictured above) and Jackie Hernandez for welcoming us back. It was a blast!
