Iowa Startup Accelerator
415 12th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52401, United States
Overview
Iowa’s first 90-day accelerator program for pre- and early-revenue startups. While the Corridor currently has significant resources available to entrepreneurs, most are aimed at companies that have already proved themselves viable. This newly-formed accelerator will attract and cultivate early stage startups, helping to turn concepts into businesses ready for funding. Teams will compete for up to 10 spots in the accelerator program, which will begin taking applications early in 2014. Accepted teams will receive seed funding, access to a broad mentor network, and entrepreneurial boot camp training. The 90-day program culminates in a “demo day” in which each startup shows off its progress for potential customers and investors.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- Finance
- Transportation
- Venture Capital
Investment portfolio
- SwineTech
Participated · Series A · May 2017
SwineTech developed SmartGuard, a farrowing platform for swine houses that monitors and analyzes data around sow health, pregnancy and piglet-related indicators. The system tracks signals such as temperature shifts and signs that labor is imminent to help identify sows that may need intervention. The company positions SmartGuard as a tool to streamline caregiver workflows rather than replace human caregivers, improving onboarding and prioritization in farrowing houses. SwineTech plans to expand its technology by adding computer vision to monitor birth and animal development at a deeper level. Financially, the company recently raised a $5 million Series A1 (after a $1.3 million Series A in 2017) and will use the proceeds primarily to ramp up sales and marketing for its second-generation product suite once COVID-19 passes. Over the past year SwineTech has expanded its team and secured partnerships with major North American pork producers as well as Kansas State University and North Carolina State University. SwineTech builds a wearable device for sows plus stall-mounted sensors that detect piglet squeals and send an impulse to a mother when she is crushing a piglet. The stall device is trained to pick up the specific squeal of a suffocating piglet, and the wearable also provides broader health data for the sow (a "Fitbit for pigs"). The company aims to substantially reduce early-life piglet deaths—85% occur in the first four to six days—and address a global problem the article cites as 116 million piglet deaths worldwide. SwineTech plans to use its recent funding to manufacture devices and officially commercialize the product and already has a few large paying customers. Future product plans include digital tools for documenting antibiotic use and improved data streaming to vets and other stakeholders. The company has received backing from organizations including the Iowa Department of Agriculture and has participated in accelerators and pitch competitions that helped it gain investor interest.
Team
No current team members are available.