Ag Startup Engine Research
Investment Thesis
Ag Startup Engine (ASE) is an Ames, Iowa-based early-stage venture firm that serves as the conduit between early-stage agricultural startups and investors. Launched in 2016/2017 out of the Iowa State University Research Park and the ISU Startup Factory accelerator, ASE was built to close two gaps that historically hurt Midwest ag entrepreneurs: access to early-stage capital and organized mentorship from experienced operators. The firm views ag-tech broadly, from seed to consumption, with a stated emphasis on Midwest agriculture solutions. Core focus areas include animal health, robotics, precision agriculture, livestock automation, and sustainability. ASE looks for founders who are problem-centric and gritty, tackling significant, well-defined problems in agriculture, and is explicit that founders working full-time (or funded to go full-time) are a strong signal in its process.
Stage Focus
ASE is a pre-seed and seed-stage investor. Its first two funds wrote small checks into very early companies, often as the first institutional capital in the business. Its newly closed third fund is explicitly positioned to add "scaling capital" so ASE can continue supporting portfolio companies as they grow, but the firm's core entry point remains pre-seed/seed.
Check Size
Per ASE's own FAQ, the firm typically invests $25,000-$100,000 into each company via equity, SAFE, or convertible note ("we are not picky on the instrument"). Fund I wrote $25,000-$50,000 checks into 15 companies. Fund III (closed March 2026 at $7M) is intended to write larger checks to support graduating portfolio companies, though a specific new check-size range was not disclosed.
Lead Tendency
Not clearly established from public sources. ASE is frequently the first institutional check into a company (e.g., Smart Ag was ASE's first-ever investment), but the firm's process — monthly investor meetings where founders pitch to the full member group — reads more like a syndicate/angel-network model than a traditional lead investor asserting board control or setting terms.
Recent Activity
- March 2026: Closed Fund III, a $7M seed fund, with an investor base drawn entirely from agricultural industry leaders and strategic partners, including new investors from Brazil. ASE had already deployed into six companies through the new fund at close.
- 2024: Made six new investments (FloVision Solutions, TRIC Robotics, Terrashroom, Kimle Aquaculture, Dalan Animal Health, Bovi-Jet) and three follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies, per ASE's 2024 annual report (published April 2025).
- 2024: Two portfolio exits — Haber Technologies (grain aeration/drying tech) was acquired by Shivvers Manufacturing in June 2024, forming Shivvers Technology & Innovation Group (STIG); Bloomfield Robotics (Pittsburgh-based specialty-crop imaging/AI) was acquired by Kubota North America in September 2024.
- Fund II ($3.3M, raised 2020) is in its final stretch of deployment, with roughly 10 more investments expected.
Portfolio Highlights
ASE's 2024 annual report cites 40 total portfolio companies, 385 jobs created, over $33M in portfolio revenue generated, and $6.87M in grant funding secured across the portfolio. Notable companies and outcomes:
- Smart Ag — ASE's first-ever investment and first exit (acquired by Raven Industries, 2019); developed the first aftermarket driverless system to automate tractors.
- Performance Livestock Analytics — cattle management software, acquired by Zoetis (April 2020), later spun back out with independent funding in 2023.
- Bloomfield Robotics — specialty-crop imaging/AI, acquired by Kubota North America (September 2024).
- Haber Technologies — grain aeration/drying technology, acquired by Shivvers Manufacturing (June 2024).
- FarmlandFinder — online farmland marketplace ("Zillow for Farmland"), acquired by EasyKnock (August 2021).
- FloVision Solutions — AI-based yield/quality analytics for protein processing facilities; raised an $8.7M Series A led by Insight Partners in July 2025.
- Other active portfolio companies span livestock automation and monitoring (automed, Distynct, EIO Diagnostics, Croft Technologies), robotics (Birds Eye Robotics, Farmwave, Greenfield Robotics, TRIC Robotics), animal health/biotech (Genvax Technologies, LEAH Labs, Skroot, Hilltop Bio, Dalan Animal Health, Bovi-Jet), sustainability/engine technology (ClearFlame Engine Technologies, Gross-Wen Technologies), and food/agtech marketplaces (Clayton Farms, ChopLocal, Haggle, Continuum Ag).
Team
- Joel Harris, Executive Director — Co-founder and CEO of Genvax Technologies (mRNA + nanoparticle livestock vaccines). Previously co-founded Harrisvaccines, sold to Merck Animal Health in 2015; also spent time on the investment side with ASE and Vitalize Venture Group. B.A. in Economics, University of Iowa.
- Colin Hurd, Co-Director — CEO of Mach, board member at Jackrabbit Equipment. Founded Smart Ag (first aftermarket driverless tractor automation system), acquired by Raven Industries in 2019 — Smart Ag was ASE's first investment and first exit. Earlier founded TrackTill, licensed to Yetter Manufacturing.
- Kevin Kimle, Co-Director — Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, Director of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics. Widely credited as the original architect of ASE (launched 2016/2017 out of ISU).
- Mikayla Mooney, Venture Partner — Founded ag-tech company KinoSol at 19 (solar-powered food dehydrators, launched in 50+ countries), then joined ISA Ventures (a $22M Iowa seed fund) before joining ASE as Venture Partner to build and lead its third fund.
Decision Process
ASE runs monthly investor meetings where founders pitch to the firm's investor-members; if there is interest, ASE can move quickly to an investment. The investor base (10+ members in early funds, expanding internationally with Fund III) is composed entirely of industry operators — farmers, producers, retired ag-tech executives, and corporates — rather than traditional LPs, which functions closer to a syndicate/investment-committee model than a solo-GP or small-partnership decision process.
Founder Preferences
ASE explicitly favors founders who are problem-centric and gritty, working on well-defined, significant agricultural problems, and who can commit full-time to the venture (or whose round allows them to go full-time). The firm has passed on deals primarily due to team-related concerns — most often because a founder was not yet full-time — and looks for validated market demand rather than pure concept-stage ideas.
Geographic Focus
Midwest-centric, with explicit emphasis on Iowa (ASE's Cultivator Grant program prioritizes Iowa-based founders, though it accepts applicants from anywhere in the U.S.). The portfolio itself is not exclusively Midwest — Bloomfield Robotics was Pittsburgh-based — and Fund III has begun adding international investor-members from Brazil, broadening ASE's network beyond the Midwest even as portfolio sourcing remains Midwest-weighted.