How many investments has Ag Startup Engine Seed made?

Ag Startup Engine Seed has 12 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.

What stage does Ag Startup Engine Seed invest at?

Ag Startup Engine Seed invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.

What sectors does Ag Startup Engine Seed focus on?

Ag Startup Engine Seed focuses on Healthtech.

Where is Ag Startup Engine Seed located?

Ag Startup Engine Seed is headquartered in Ames, US.

Ag Startup Engine Seed

Venture capitaloperating company · company profile

Ames · Pre-Seed–Series A · 5 people tracked

Also known as Ag Startup Engine

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Fund manager profile

Ag Startup Engine Seed is a venture fund manager based in Ames. SEC filings show 1 venture fund on record, most recently Ag Startup Engine Seed Fund I LLC ($15M offering) filed January 2025.

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D filings. Firm website data not yet available.

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Stage

Pre-Seed–Series A

Ames, IA, US

Founded

2024

Last 12 months

2 investments

Tracked investments

Acquisitions

Team · 5 people

from public directories

Mikayla Mooney· General Partner

Joel Harris· Managing Partner· Chicago, Illinoisin 𝕏

Joel Harris is the co-founder and CEO of Genvax Technologies, a company founded in 2021 that develops mRNA and nanoparticle vaccines for livestock, with initial focus on swine applications. He also serves as Executive Director of the Ag Startup Engine, a pre-seed investment group focused on midwest agricultural innovation. Harris previously co-founded Harrisvaccines, an mRNA livestock vaccine company that was acquired by Merck Animal Health in 2015, and has investment experience with venture groups including Vitalize Venture Group. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Iowa.

Colin Hurd· General Partner

Hannah Hill· Associate· Iowain

Kevin Kimle· Investor· Des Moines, Iowain

Kevin Kimle is the Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, where he serves as Director of the Start Something Agriculture program and Teaching Professor in the Department of Economics. His work encompasses curriculum development, outreach to aspiring entrepreneurs and agribusiness executives, and research on entrepreneurship and innovation in agriculture. Prior to his current role, Kimle held positions in start-up companies, the seed industry, venture capital, commodity risk management, and agricultural policy, and has led public-private partnerships involving international universities and agribusinesses across Europe, South America, China, and Africa.

Founder mafia

2 people who came through Ag Startup Engine Seed went on to found or lead other companies.

Joel HarrisManaging PartnerFounded Genvax Technologies Kevin KimleInvestorFounded Ag Startup Engine

What they invest in

from 10 of 12 portfolio companies

AgTech ×5Climate Tech ×3Healthtech ×3Robotics ×3Advanced Manufacturing ×2Biotech ×2Data & Infrastructure ×2FoodTech ×2

HQs:United States×11

Investments · 12 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 2 2023 · 1 2021 · 2 2018 · 27 dated

Bird’s Eye Roboticsbirdseyerobotics.com inJun 2026SEC filingmedium confidence

Birds Eye Robotics develops robotic solutions for commercial poultry farmers to automate labor-intensive tasks and improve operational efficiency.

AgTechHardwareRoboticsHerman, US

Reynolds Dusty(Executive Officer, Director)Scott NiewohnerLucas Niewohner

BoardIan Hamilton(Director)

Board seatColin Hurd· per SEC Form D · $800K raise · filed Jun 2026

Co-investorsInnova Memphis, Inc.Invest Nebraska

Haber Technologies, Inc.inApr 2023SEC filingmedium confidence

Ames, US

Eric Harweger(Executive Officer, Director)inDillon Hurd(Executive Officer, Director)in Steven Brockshus(Executive Officer)in

BoardKurt Rosentrater(Director)David C. Furbush(Director)

Board seatColin Hurd· per SEC Form D · $2M raise · filed Apr 2023

Continuum Agcontinuum.ag inOct 2021 · $475K

Continuum Ag is a soil health data intelligence company that helps farmers measure, verify, and monetize the Carbon Intensity of their crops to earn premiums on low-carbon grain.

AgTechClimate TechData & InfrastructureWashington, US

Mitchell Hora(CEO & Founder)Brad McDonald(Executive Officer)in

Board Spencer Stensrude(Director)inMichael Blanding(Director)Owen Gerard(Director)

Co-investorsEvergreen Climate Innovations ISA Ventures Third Derivative Ag Ventures Alliance SVG Ventures | THRIVE

Enzymeenzyme.com in 𝕏Jul 2026 · $4Macquired by Greenlight Guru · Jul 2025

Enzyme develops a Quality Management System (QMS) software platform for life science companies including drug, biologic, device, and digital product manufacturers, designed to streamline regulatory workflows and generate FDA-ready documentation.

Enterprise SoftwareHealthtechMedical DevicesSaaSSan Francisco, US

Jared Seehafer(Founder/CEO)in Jacob Graham(Founder/Vice President QA/RA)in

Co-investorsDCVC (Data Collective)Soma Capital Y Combinator Hack VC Informed Ventures Advisors, Llc Parcel B +4 more

Four Growersfourgrowers.com inSeed

Four Growers develops automated solutions for greenhouse crop management to support the agricultural technology sector.

Advanced ManufacturingAgTechFoodTechHardwareRoboticsPittsburgh, US

Brandon Contino(CEO and Co-Founder)in Dan Chi(CTO and Co-Founder)inJohn P. Quayle(Chief of Staff)in

Board Chris Papouras(Director)Aldo Zini(Director)John Overbeck(Director)

Co-investorsAmritam Holdings Better Food Ventures Cathexis Ventures Ospraie Ag Science Stage 1 Ventures Taver Capital +5 more

Gross-Wen Technologiesalgae.com inAug 2021

Gross-Wen Technologies (GWT) develops the patented RAB algae-based system to treat municipal and industrial wastewater, recovering nutrients from the water and recycling the nutrient-rich algae into slow-release fertilizer.

AgTechBiotechCircular EconomyCleantechClimate TechSlater, US

Dr. Martin Gross(Founder and CEO)Dr. Zhiyou Wen(Co-founder)David Furbush(Executive Officer, Director)Max Gangestad(Chief Operating Officer)in Ken Rubin(President)inPaul Juffer(Chief Financial Officer)in

Co-investorsAiiM Partners ISA Ventures Next Level Ventures

LEAH Labsleahlabs.com 𝕏Seed

LEAH Labs engineers gene-edited CAR-T cell therapies to treat cancer in pet dogs, with the goal of generating translational insights for human cancer therapy.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesMinneapolis, US

Wesley Wierson(Founder & CEO)inStephen C. Ekker(Scientific Founder & Board Director)Saad S. Kenderian(Scientific Founder)Jonathan P. Mochel(Scientific Founder)Saad S. Kenderian, MB/ChB(Scientific Founder)Jonathan P. Mochel, PhD/DECVPT(Scientific Founder)

Co-investorsGROOVE CAPITAL Southeast Minnesota Capital Fund Y Combinator Wefunder

Nebullam (DBA Clayton Farms)claytonfarms.com in 𝕏Seed

Nebullam operates indoor farms located within restaurant facilities to supply fresher produce directly to diners.

ConsumerFoodTechRoboticsSan Francisco, US

Co-investorsInnoventures Iowa ISA Ventures Y Combinator Founder Capital

OctaPulsetryoctapulse.com in 𝕏Seed

OctaPulse provides AI vision software that automates quality control tasks in fish hatcheries, including broodstock phenotyping and deformity detection, reducing inspection time from several minutes to under 30 seconds per fish.

Advanced ManufacturingClimate Tech

Paul Grech(Founder)in Rohan Singh(Founder)in

Co-investorsPioneer Y Combinator Founder Capital Hassan Lantry (Blast)Plaid Matrix

Tractor Zoomtractorzoom.com in 𝕏Sep 2018 · $1M

Tractor Zoom operates equipment marketplace and valuation platforms (Tractor Zoom Pro and Anvil Pro) that provide real-time price data, market intelligence, and sales workflow tools for agricultural and heavy equipment.

AgTechData & InfrastructureMarketplacesWest Des Moines, US

Kyle McMahon(Founder / CEO)inZac Sandvig(Chief Financial Officer)in Mike Meyerring(Chief Revenue Officer)in

BoardKen Woody(Director)inDouglas Hohner(Director)Tim McMahon(Director)

Co-investorsAg Ventures Alliance Innova Memphis, Inc.ISA Ventures Next Level Ventures Bienville Capital Builders VC +2 more

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

GW Nutrition VetMeasure

Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.

Exits · 1

1 acquisitions

Enzymeacq. by Greenlight Guru

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

OctaPulse - Building the Autonomous Aquaculture Farms of the Future

OctaPulse · ycombinator.com · Feb 20, 2026

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Ag Startup Engine Seed made?: Ag Startup Engine Seed has 12 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
What stage does Ag Startup Engine Seed invest at?: Ag Startup Engine Seed invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What sectors does Ag Startup Engine Seed focus on?: Ag Startup Engine Seed focuses on Healthtech.
Where is Ag Startup Engine Seed located?: Ag Startup Engine Seed is headquartered in Ames, US.

Co-investors · 2

Ag Ventures Alliance

AgVentures Alliance operates in the agricultural sector with a foundation dedicated to empowering agricultural communities through education, innovation, and support for farmers and sustainable farming practices.

Both backed · 2

Continuum Ag Tractor Zoom

Clean Energy Ventures

Clean Energy Ventures is a climate-focused venture capital firm that has invested for nearly two decades in breakthrough climate technologies, backing founders who combine defensible science with strong commercial fundamentals.

$100K – $5M

Firms observed investing alongside Ag Startup Engine Seed, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Ag Startup Engine Seed's recorded portfolio.

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