The food and agtech accelerator has accepted an inaugural cohort of eight, with half of the intake focusing on the agtech space.
Yissum, the tech transfer company of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, formed a food and agtech accelerator called HUGrow yesterday to advance technologies based on research from the university.
HUGrow will be supported by Hebrew University’s agtech-focused seed fund AgrInnovation, its entrepreneurship centre, HUStart, and the Robert Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
The initial cohort of eight startups will take part in three months of entrepreneurial training with lecturers, mentors and business leaders, spending another six months developing their businesses.
Four of the participants will operate in the agtech sector, with the remaining four working towards water and foodtech applications.
The initiative is HUStart’s third company building program, adding to a pre-accelerator scheme and an industry-agnostic accelerator that acts as its flagship.
Yaron Daniely, chief executive and president of Yissum, said: “A proof of concept transforms early-stage technologies into great investment targets for incubators.
“HUGrow will leverage the unparalleled experience, expertise and infrastructure of Hebrew University to transition these technologies into fundable assets.”
