Four other companies; Agrint (Israel), Hands Life Science (Hong Kong), Smart AHC (Singapore) and Sophie’s Kitchen (Taiwan) each received a SG$50’000 Startup SG Grant awarded by SPRING Singapore.
The Future Food Asia event aimed to bring together investors, corporates, governments, academics and entrepreneurs.
To qualify, applicants needed to have a proof-of-concept and come up with an innovative and sustainable technology to improve the food ecosystem.
The selection of the eight finalists was done by a jury panel featuring Gérard Jacquin, former director of Partnerships, Transfer and Innovation at INRA, Europe’s leading agricultural research institute; Dr. Ralph Graichen, director of Food and Nutrition at A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council; Victoria de la Huerga, vice president of ADM Ventures, Archer Daniels Midland Company; and Isabelle Decitre, founder and CEO of event organiser ID Capital.
The award winners:
String Bio [India]
String Bio applies a biological conversion process to convert methane gas to various value added products including single cell protein used for animal feed. String's technology leverages advances in synthetic biology, fermentation technology, chemistry and process engineering to produce a reliable and cost-effective protein.
Agrint [Israel]
Agrint has built a solution aimed against any tree borers and especially the Red Palm Weevil – the most harmful and undetectable pest to palm and coconut trees worldwide. It has developed a low-cost and low-energy unique sensor, which can be installed on any tree and transmit real-time early detection notifications as pests penetrate it.
Hands Life Science [Hong Kong]
Hands Life Science is an innovative startup in the domain of DHA production. Its technology produces DHA in a novel chemical structure that is significantly more absorbable and oxidation-stable. Production utilizes a proprietary micro-organism.
Smart AHC [Singapore]
Smart AHC provides e-traceability capabilities for pig farmers. Its technology optimises productivity yield of pigs through predictive analytics, and caters to a rapidly growing market - the market size of pork in China is more than twice that of its mobile phone market.
Sophie’s Kitchen [Taiwan]
Sophie's Kitchen is a food tech startup using innovative ingredients and patent pending technology to make plant-based seafood alternatives.