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Help & Support For Agtech Startups In Victoria

Victoria is Australia’s largest agricultural producer, but despite our reputation as the nation’s food bowl, our Agtech sector remains small and underdeveloped.

LaunchVic has partnered with Agriculture Victoria to provide support, funding and investment opportunities to Victorian Agtech startups building farming technology. Applications of these technologies can include: automation, drones, robotics, AI.

Our partnership is all about boosting the number of Victorian AgTech startups and building entrepreneurial culture and capability in this crucial sector.

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Programs Investment

What Is Agtech?

Agtech is the collection of technologies that provide the agricultural industry with the tools, data and knowledge to make more informed, timely on-farm decisions and improve productivity and sustainability.

Founder Programs To Support Agtech Startup Growth

LaunchVic and Agriculture Victoria fund free business entrepreneurship programs helping Agtech startups test their ideas, find their first customers and access new networks.

An Australian farmer and his worker behind crops and picking produce

INVESTMENT SUPPORT FOR AGTECH STARTUPS

The Hugh Victor McKay Fund provides seed funding to Agtech startups ready to raise venture capital. The fund can invest up to $200,000 and 15% of our contribution goes to the startup as a non-dilutive grant.

Learn more

Grant Recipients

The AgTech Grants Program provided equity-free funding to help startups move to their next phase of growth and access mentoring advice to build their businesses, hire staff and support Victoria’s economic growth. The program closed April 2025 when funds were fully allocated. See a list of recipients below.

4Zero Technologies

4Zero is helping farmers minimise supply chain disruptions and increase production efficiency.

AEI

AEI is developing sophisticated energy solutions for the agriculture sector that work behind the meter.

Air Agri

AirAgri is a agricultural platform inspired by social networks, market places and Agri software.

Ambit Robotics

The Ambit robot wakes up each night to count and grade each piece of fruit in a crop row.

AlterraTech

Building the IKEA for farming automation.

AquaTerra

AquaTerra provides farms with valuable data and actionable insights to make informed decisions.

BioIQ

BioIQ’s aim is to reduce the use of synthetic fertilisers whilst improving soil health.

Drone Hand

The first commercially available, user friendly, AI driven, automated flight-app for livestock monitoring.

Engenia Solutions

Boodbox is a thermal image-based pollination management system for the commercial agriculture sector.

Farmo

Farmo is designing products utilising cutting edge technology to address the pain points on farm.

Gaia PROJECT

Gaia’s world first Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) channel, produces industry leading crop densities without the need for transplantation.

Jane’s Weather

Unlocking productivity and driving efficiency through precise and actionable data. Curated by meteorologist and weather presenter Jane Bunn.

LB AgTech

A hive management platform for beekeepers.

Mobble

Mobble is an AgTech startup that has developed a cloud-based livestock farm management software.

Rubens Technologies

Rubens has developed a first in class non-destructive technology for determining fruit quality and consistency.

Leaf Protein Co

The Leaf Protein Co. can extract leaf protein from any plant source to increase the biodiversity of plant protein ingredients.

PHNXX

PHNXX’s modular microgrid system provides reliable access to clean energy.

Tie Up Farming

Tie Up Farming is focused on offering data-driven solutions to optimize farming operations and enhance agricultural productivity.

Vimana Tech

Vimana helps Beekeepers see the real-time health of all their hives, no matter how far away.

Ralo Automation

An AgTech startup using vision systems to reduce farm labour.

CELLYSIS PTY LTD

CELLYSIS PTY LTD has developed and is commercialising a Food Safety and Shelf-Life extension gas phase technology for perishable food.

Hart Bioenergy

Hart Bioenergy designs and builds biogas and related systems to convert organic waste into energy, clean water, biofertilizers and other bioproducts.

Natural Branding Australia

Natural Branding Australia provides an environmentally friendly laser-based technology for labelling fruits and vegetables.

BaleTime

BaleTime provides innovative, easy-to-use monitoring solutions for farmers, optimising hay baling and flood irrigation efficiency.

Platform Zero

Platform Zero is a market leading company connecting waste to businesses.

Check Please Pty Ltd

Refining technology to power pricing data.

TerraLab

Developing the @ STA Logger, Automatic & Efficient Data Logging of Weed Management Activities

HayShepherd

Monitoring for environmental changes in hay sheds.

Breeze Enviro

Breeze is making soil and environmental monitoring simple and affordable for all grape growers.

Autonomous-Ag

Improving the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural practices through the supply of Autonomous Tractor retrofit kits.

People in Paddocks

A dyslexic friendly workforce management platform that sources, trains, manages and motivates workers.

Furrow

The future of farm water management where connected infrastructure and automation is accessible, robust and seamless in operation.

Ornata Technologies

A technology platform that powers “Steering as a Service”: a subscription service that provides operating hours for agricultural machinery.

GuardianSkies Drones

Combining cutting-edge drone technology with ethical pest management — redefining how farms stay safe and productive.

Adept Aqua

Moves molecules to close the carbon loop in sectors such as aviation and agriculture.

VensoGrow

Creating the future of seed enhancement. Increase yields with ecological benefits.

SwabTec

Advancing livestock genetics through simple saliva testing.

Al.gorithm

Using satellite data to monitor Australian farms, tracking vegetation, soil, and weather

Forward Deployed

Rapid identification of chemical hazards for any scenario.

Rhino Instruments

Critical temperature data sent to the cloud – rain, hail or shine.

Case Studies

Read about some of the Victorian agtech startups supported by our work.

Photograph of Fern Ho, co founder of Leaf protein Co, an AgTech Startup

The Leaf Protein Co. is using the humble green leaf to change the global food chain

We sit down with Victorian AgTech Leaf Protein Co, one of the first investments from the Hugh Victor McKay Fund. Read More
Photograph of Jane Bunn, co founder of Jane's Weather, an AgTech Startup

The new AI-powered weather app from Channel 7’s Jane Bunn

Meteorologist and Channel 7 weather presenter Jane Bunn has launched a startup providing hyper local weather forecasts for all Australians. Read More
Photograph of AirAgri founder Paul Diamond on his farm wearing a blue shirt and smiling

How AirAgri’s farm safety tool is bringing more Aussie farmers home

Third generation cattle and sheep producers Paul and James Diamond are transforming farming with automated safety technology. Read More

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