Terra, the Food + Ag Tech Accelerator, is announcing six global corporations that have signed on to participate in its inaugural cohort. Terra is a first of its kind accelerator program bringing together the industry’s most disruptive startups and progressive corporations to fuel cross-industry innovation and set a new standard for food and agriculture. At its foundation, Terra combines RocketSpace's global tech ecosystem and startup network with Rabobank’s food and agribusiness leadership and expertise.

Terra’s corporate collaborators are a diverse group of food and ag corporations including:

  • AgroFresh (U.S.A.) - a global horticultural produce industry leader, providing a portfolio of innovative products and specialty services to maintain the freshness, quality and value of fresh produce and flowers
  • Beta San Miguel (Mexico) - ranked as the largest, fastest growing sugar company in Mexico
  • Givaudan (Switzerland) - global leader in the creation of flavors and fragrances
  • Griffith Foods (U.S.A.) - leader in customized food ingredient systems
  • Grupo Azucarero Mexico/CULTIBA (Mexico) – consolidated player in the Mexican sugar market, recently diversified into Palm Oil and Stevia, and vertically integrated into green energy and fields
  • OSI Group (U.S.A.) - global leader in supplying value-added protein items and other food products to leading foodservice and retail brands

“Being a part of Terra and its diverse group of collaborators presents tangible opportunities to explore new, innovative offerings,” said Scott May, VP Global Innovation, Givaudan Flavours. “Sharing our innovation roadmap with selected startups and focusing on real-life product scenarios creates an open environment to quickly and effectively engage with potential partnerships.”

Terra joins the rapidly growing ecosystem focused on food and agriculture startups, helping them validate their product and scale their business by teaming up with industry corporations on product testing and new go-to-market solutions. As Terra’s founders, Rabobank and RocketSpace will help the startups and leading corporations come together to explore and experiment with potential partnerships.

Startup applications close on February 1, 2017 and the program will kick off this Spring. Startups will be able to sharpen their product and pitch during an eight-week tailored curriculum led by industry experts, followed by an eight-week product validation period. During the program, startups will have the unique opportunity to work from RocketSpace’s tech campus in downtown San Francisco, among its curated community of tech startups which has included 18 “unicorns” valued at $1B or more.

Startups can learn more about Terra and apply to join the inaugural cohort here: TerraAccelerator.com. No equity is required to participate.

About Rabobank

Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, leasing, and real estate services in more than 40 countries worldwide. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank today is one of the world’s largest banks with over $750 billion in assets. In the Americas, Rabobank is a premier bank to the food, agribusiness and beverage industry, providing sector expertise, strategic counsel and tailored financial solutions to clients across the entire food value chain. Additional information is available on our Rabobank North America Wholesale website or on our social media platforms, including Twitter and LinkedIn.

About RocketSpace

RocketSpace is a technology campus headquartered in the heart of San Francisco with campuses opening in London, China and Australia in 2017. Since 2011, the company has been helping the top tech startups and corporate innovators bring the future to market. The company offers services to its members including programming, consulting, events, and office-as-a-service, which together create the perfect ecosystem and community for innovation to thrive. Select startup alumni include Uber, Spotify, Practice Fusion, and Leap Motion, and RocketSpace's roster of Corporate Innovation Services clients include Schneider Electric, Converse, Tata Communications, Royal Bank of Scotland, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Samsung, and ABinBev. For more information, visit RocketSpace.com, as well as the RocketSpace on Twitter and LinkedIn.