Eight UK agri-tech firms travelled to San Francisco last month as part of a new programme aimed at helping British start-ups scale into the US market.
The takeaway? They must prove commercial traction at home, establish a presence in the US, and be prepared to tell a bigger growth story than many European founders are accustomed to.
The event, hosted by SVG Ventures | THRIVE, Innovate UK and climate innovation hub 9Zero, formed part of the inaugural Innovate UK Global Incubator Programme: Agri-Tech USA.
The nine-month programme combines mentoring, investor introductions and market development support, alongside visits to California and participation in industry events including the Salinas Biological Summit and October’s THRIVE Global Impact Summit.
The cohort:
- HerdVision – Automated cattle monitoring technology focused on animal health and herd efficiency.
- CDotBio Ltd – Carbon dot delivery systems designed to improve performance and uptake of crop protection products.
- Cordon Technologies – Precision foliar spraying technology using GPS mapping, sensing and automated nutrient mixing.
- Fibe Ltd – Sustainable natural fibres produced from agricultural waste streams.
- FLOX – AI-powered poultry monitoring and operational planning technology.
- Fotenix – Automated greenhouse scouting systems for pest, disease and crop monitoring.
- Glaia Ltd – Crop inputs designed to enhance photosynthesis and improve yields.
- SugaROx Ltd – Precision biostimulants that improve crop productivity and resilience.
Don’t just turn up and ask for money
Speaking to AgNavigator after the event, Adam Bergman, managing director at EcoTech Capital and a newly appointed strategic adviser to SVG Ventures | THRIVE, said one of the most important discussions centred on how UK and other non-native US companies should position themselves when seeking investment.
According to Bergman, one of the biggest mistakes overseas founders make is approaching US investors without having established any meaningful presence in the market.
“If you’re going to be looking to raise capital in the US, you need to have some sort of a presence here,” he said.
Investors are unlikely to back a company that is based thousands of miles away and has yet to demonstrate customer relationships, employees or commercial activity in North America, he added.
Instead, founders should view US expansion as a long-term process of building market familiarity before attempting a major fundraising round.
The US rewards scale
Bergman said the attraction of the US remains straightforward: it is the world’s largest market for many agricultural technologies and one that is often more willing to adopt innovation.
“The US is the biggest market for a lot of technology, and the US is more likely to adopt technology,” he said.
He pointed to a mature network of incubators, accelerators and innovation programmes that help connect start-ups with growers willing to trial new technologies. Once validated, companies gain access to markets that are significantly larger than those available in many European countries.
“The market opportunity is so much bigger,” he said.
A different investor mindset
Another key lesson from the event concerned differences between American and European investment cultures.
Bergman argued that UK and European founders are often more conservative when discussing growth ambitions than their US counterparts.
In contrast, American investors typically want to hear how businesses can scale rapidly and capture large market opportunities.
“They’re looking for entrepreneurs to be a bit more aggressive,” he said.
That does not mean founders should make unrealistic promises, but they must demonstrate a credible pathway to building a much larger business than many European investors might expect.
Traction first, venture capital later
Despite encouraging greater engagement with US investors, Bergman cautioned start-ups against rushing into venture capital.
One of the strongest pieces of advice he offered was to delay institutional VC funding for as long as possible, instead taking advantage of government grants, family office funding and other sources of non-dilutive capital.
He also stressed that commercial traction remains the most effective way to attract American investors.
“You need to get market traction in your home country to show that you actually have a business,” he said.
Success in the UK, he argued, makes it significantly easier to win customers, partners and investors in the US.
Creating a virtuous cycle
The discussion comes as UK agri-tech leaders warn of a commercialisation gap that risks pushing promising companies towards larger overseas markets. But Bergman believes successful US expansion could ultimately strengthen, rather than weaken, the UK ecosystem.
“If we don’t get investment into UK companies, you’re not going to see more venture going over there to invest,” he said.
Success stories, exits and scale-ups create confidence among investors, generating what he described as a virtuous cycle that attracts further capital and international attention.
Against a backdrop of subdued agrifood investment compared with the sector’s 2021 peak, Bergman remains optimistic.
“There is no lack of capital for the agtech sector,” he said. “There is a lack of companies with the scale and level of profitability to attract the capital.”
