OUR PARTNERS
Grow with Us
The VINE connects industry leaders with California’s next generation of agricultural innovators, from university research to commercially-ready solutions. As a VINE partner, you’ll gain prioritized access to our vetted founder community, strategic connections to California’s most innovative growers, and opportunities to shape technologies solving tomorrow’s biggest farming challenges.
FOR INVESTORS
Cultivate Your Alpha
Quality sourcing is everything. The VINE’s rigorous vetting process, led by industry veterans and validated by California’s most experienced growers, ensures you see only opportunities that solve real, revenue-generating problems.
Grower-validated from day one
Every company in our portfolio has been personally vetted by farmers who’ve seen (and rejected) hundreds of pitches. If they’re willing to trial it on their land, you should pay attention.
Anti-hype screening
We filter out the “solutions looking for problems.” Our founders are solving challenges growers actually lose sleep over.
FOR GROWERS
Growers Know Best
The VINE pre-screens every startup we work with against real problems identified by California growers. That means when we connect you with an innovator, it’s because their solution addresses a challenge you’ve prioritized.
Vetted by industry peers
Our Industry Advisory Board – made up of experienced California growers – reviews every startup before they enter our programs, ensuring only practical, field-ready solutions reach your operation.
On-farm demonstrations that come to you
We structure field demonstrations around your schedule and existing operations, so you can test promising technologies in real production environments without disrupting your workflow.
Access to cutting edge solutions
Get early exposure to California’s most promising agricultural technologies before they hit the broader market, with the opportunity to influence their development based on what actually works on your farm.
Reach out and connect with
a member of our team!
INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD
Following the Lead of the California Ag Industry
Our Industry Advisory Board keeps us deeply connected to the realities of California farming – the challenges that emerge each season, the inefficiencies that drain resources, and the opportunities that new technologies could unlock. We take direction from those on the front lines, ensuring we address fundamental challenges rather than chasing trends.
CA AG TECH NETWORK
Connecting the Dots
The VINE is a proud founding member of the California Ag Tech Network, the state’s first coordinated agricultural innovation infrastructure spanning all nine of California’s food-producing regions. This statewide network unites research institutions, industry partners, regional accelerators, and community organizations under shared leadership to accelerate technology development and adoption. By connecting entrepreneurs to UC research facilities, Cooperative Extension specialists, field-testing sites, and grower networks across the state, we ensure innovations developed in one region can rapidly benefit farmers everywhere. Together, we’re building the missing infrastructure that transforms promising ideas into farm-ready solutions.
UCANR INNOVATE
Innovating in partnership with the UC System
UCANR Innovate is the innovation arm of University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, dedicated to driving agriculture, food, and biotechnology innovation in California. We built The VINE to ensure promising technologies don’t get stuck in the lab. We provide startups with direct access to UC research centers and Extension specialists who understand regional growing conditions to help innovative solutions prove themselves in real production environments.
FARMHAND VENTURES
Ran in Partnership with Farmhand Ventures
Farmhand Ventures is an ag tech venture firm investing in companies that transform how work gets done on farms. Led by industry veterans with hands-on farming experience, Farmhand brings capital and deep agricultural networks to early-stage startups solving labor challenges, improving farmworker equity, and building climate resilience. Through The VINE, we provide startups with funding and commercialization expertise to accelerate their path from prototype to production-ready solution.
