Empire State Development Announces Round Six Winners of the Food and Agriculture Business Competition
Summary
$3 Million in Prize Money Awarded to Seven Global Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Startups, Including $1 Million Grand Prize for UnibaioCompetition is Supported by Upstate Revitalization Initiative and Builds on CNY Rising, Finger Lakes Forward and Southern Tier Soaring Regional StrategiesEmpire State Development (ESD) today announced Unibaio, of New York, NY, as the grand-prize winner of sixth annual Grow-NY business competition which is focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage and agriculture innovation cluster in Central New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier. Grow-NY is rooted in Governor Hochuls support of startups that are building entrepreneurial ecosystems and continues to nurture economic growth across the rich farming areas of the Finger Lakes, Central and Southern Tier regions.State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. I congratulate all the winners and participants this year and thank Governor Hochul for her continued support in making sure New York agriculture remains a powerhouse nationwide.Unibaio offers naturally derived particles that trap the active ingredients of pesticides and fertilizers, enabling them to penetrate plants more efficiently.Matia Figliozzi, CEO and Co-Founder of Unibaio said, Winning the $1 million grand prize at the Grow-NY Summit is a dream come true. Builds autonomous greenhouses with robots and AI to make delicious, high-quality produce available anywhere.The public also participated in the competition by voting for the Wegmans Audience Choice award, which went to Bialtec of Delft, Netherlands, earning them $10,000 sponsored by Wegmans.More than 1,100 people registered for the sixth annual Grow-NY Summit. The winners will now focus on executing their plans in New York state, fostering job growth and leveraging the regional connections made during the competition.Grow-NY Program Director Jenn Smith said, Through the Grow-NY competition weve touched more than 1,800 startups wanting to build their businesses in Upstate NY.