SPRINGDALE, ARK. – Tyson Ventures, Tyson Foods Inc.’s venture capital division, held its Demo Day event on July 11, emphasizing sustainable food systems to advance the company’s environmental commitments.
The second annual pitch event featured a theme of upcycling with startups showcasing their latest innovations.
“It was inspiring to hear from so many creative entrepreneurs who have a passion for innovation and sustainability,” said John R. Tyson, president of Tyson Ventures and chief financial officer for Tyson Foods. “We have a critical role to play in responsibly producing food for a growing world and I’m excited to dig deeper into the startups solutions that can help us feed the world together.”
During the Demo Day, entrepreneurs explained their companies’ products, services and mission to a panel of Tyson employees.
After hearing pitches from 11 participants, the group selected four startups to receive mentorship and other partnership opportunities with the company.
The chosen startups are:
- GenoTwin - a company that specializes in biosurveillance and sustainability for livestock operations;
- NetZro - a proprietary equipment company that looks at converting food and beverage products into ingredients. They also are looking at power safe capture.
- SuperGround - a Finnish startup that processes bones and other hard tissues into human-edible and safe-to-eat poultry products; and
- ZwitterCo - uses membrane technology to enable advanced wastewater treatment and water reuse.
Tyson said it received applications from more than 15 countries to participate in the 2023 Demo Day.
In 2022, the company picked six startups that worked with Tyson Foods leaders on potential partnership opportunities.
The venture capital division has invested more than $100 million in emerging proteins, new food and worker safety technologies, and sustainable food production since 2016.
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