Aqtiva heads into Edmonton Startup Week on a winning streak

A company that helps farmers with crop yields is riding a wave of recognition as Edmonton Startup Week shines its annual light on promising companies.

"I'm someone who tries to stay very grounded about everything — I love that the community is showing us so much love and they see what we're doing," Aqtiva founder and CEO Tanay Kumar told Taproot at a kickoff event on Oct. 5. "These are all different milestones, those stepping stones that will eventually help us reach our bigger goal, which is to help farmers in Alberta, Canada, and elsewhere."

Edmonton Unlimited selected Aqtiva as one of the top 10 companies to watch at this year's Startup Week, which culminates in a countrified Launch Party on Oct. 8. That comes on the heels of Aqtiva's Oct. 1 pitch for a berth in the finale of Startup TNT's Edmonton investment summit, and a raft of other accolades.

Spun out of the University of Alberta, Aqtiva makes agtech that inserts nitrogen from the air into irrigation water for crops to reduce conventional fertilizer use, which can eventually damage soil. Kumar said the company's technology improved crop yields with four pilot partners by around 20%.

"Canadian farmers are struggling right now, whether it's the increasing costs, soil that is depleted of nutrition, or unreliable production," Kumar told Startup TNT investors.

The company is now seeking $2 million in pre-seed investment, Kumar said, and promises it is ready to move beyond pilots. "With nearly 15 publications, a patent-pending technology, and a team with technical expertise and agricultural mentorship, Aqtiva is ready to go commercial next year," Kumar told Startup TNT's pitch night.

Aqtiva has seen considerable momentum this year. In May alone, it won New Startup of the Year at the YEG Startup Community Awards; it made Scale Up Canada's Edmonton50 list of the region's most scalable companies; and Kumar was selected for an Innovation Catalyst Grant.

Before that, Aqtiva was accepted into Edmonton Unlimited's Venture Pilots program. The company will demo the pilot on Oct. 6 as part of the Built World Tech: Pilots in Action event during Startup Week. Venture Pilots was "an amazing program," Kumar told Taproot, that took him "from a prototype to an actual pilot with real field data in a real field."

Aqtiva also advanced to the top 15 for Alberta Capital Connect, making it eligible for the Breakout Venture of the Year award at the ASTech Awards and putting it in touch with more investors and mentors.

Aqtiva's fellow "companies to watch" are 7 Summits Snacks, Dualchemy, InnovativAI, Osprey Systems, Proholistic Discovery, Pulmvita, RNARevive, TaxFormify, and Zylotex, the latter of which also pitched to Startup TNT on Oct. 1.

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack told those gathered at the kickoff that the days ahead will feature critical conversations about complex challenges.

"We are seeing the immense impacts of issues like climate change on farming and infrastructure … and our shared responsibility to champion ethics in artificial intelligence is growing more urgent as that conversation continues to evolve seemingly by the hour," Knack told a full house. "We have business owners who are facing volatile international trade dynamics, and so I am so proud of Edmonton Unlimited's continued leadership in assembling some of our city's brightest minds on these and many more pressing issues."

There's much more in store for Edmonton Startup Week (of which Taproot is a media sponsor). Here are some of the events on the agenda:

• On Oct. 6, members of MIT REAP Edmonton will discuss going from learning to action.
• On Oct. 7, there will be a panel on the games industry with Digital Alberta, Artificial Agency, vrCAVE, and Studio Reset, as well as a Deep Tech Day.
• Also on Oct. 7, there's a focus on food, with YEG Food Founders Showcase and a day-long In The Loop event about food and the circular economy.
• On Oct. 8, members of Canada's Trade Commission Service will discuss the Canadian Technology Accelerator.
• Tickets are still available for Launch Party on Oct. 8.
• On Oct. 9, student founders will pitch, and reps from Junior Achievement Northern Alberta, the University of Alberta, Nucleate Canada, and Futurpreneur will speak.
• The list goes on.

As for Startup TNT's investment summit, the top five are expected to be announced on Oct. 27, and the summit finale is set for Nov. 12 at the Citadel Theatre.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the availability of tickets for Launch Party.