Food and agriculture technology in Columbus shows signs of growth

Fintech, insurtech—they’re the buzzwords around the VC community. But what about ag-tech? There are some breakthrough companies right here poised to make global progress in feeding the world.

Columbus ag-tech firm 3Bar Biologics just won two global food and agriculture tech industry pitch competitions earning international kudos—and contacts and investment.

3Bar won the Western Growers/S2G Ventures' AgSharks Competition Nov. 9, and along with it a $250,000 equity investment offer to take its beneficial microbe technology from development to market plus mentoring from industry association Western Growers and S2G Ventures, an agribusiness-focused venture fund based in Chicago.

The next day, 3Bar took the top prize at the FoodBytes! Pitch competition on Nov. 10. FoodBytes! hosted by Rabobank, a global bank with more than $750 billion in assets and the go-to agribusiness funder. This year’s FoodBytes! Pitch competition winnowed a field of 45 global competitors down to 15; 3Bar Biologics won the competition’s ag-tech category.

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Cynthia Bent Findlay is a freelance writer.