Building and connecting agrifood companies to succeed in California
The VINE, a program hosted by UC ANR’s Office of Innovation and run by Farmhand Ventures, was created to meet the growing need for practical, industry-driven innovation in California’s agrifood sector. The VINE prioritizes a “market pull” approach, which ensures that technology development is guided by actual needs from the field, rather than assumptions. This results in more relevant and impactful innovations that can directly improve efficiency, sustainability, and productivity in California agriculture.
VINE Programs Now Open for Applicants
VINE Connect: Scaling Proven Solutions
VINE Connect is designed for companies with commercially available solutions successful in other industries or regions but not yet introduced to California agriculture, or startups with products that haven’t scaled in the state. Selected participants will gain access to guided business development courses, field trials, grants, and a Field Day event where they can showcase their innovations to potential partners and customers.
Applications are now open for the next VINE Connect program.
VINE Build: Developing Emerging Innovations
VINE Build supports early-stage technologies that are not yet commercially available. It is intended for prototypes from University of California research labs, technologies from defunct companies, or concepts based on academic or government research that haven’t yet been turned into products. Selected projects receive mentorship, grant funding, and workshops to guide them from concept to commercialization, and equity-based investment. VINE Build also hosts commercialization workshops on campuses around California, to connect with groundbreaking research where it’s happening, inform researchers of the options to bring tech to market, and help them take the first step of creating problem statement and user personas.
Applications to participate in Build are reviewed on a rolling basis.