At TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield 200, a diverse group of agtech and food tech startups showcased innovations that could transform farming, food production and sustainability across the globe. These companies — selected from hundreds of applicants — bring technology to age-old challenges like waste, water, crop health, robotics and alternative proteins.

ÄIO converts agricultural waste into edible fats using engineered yeast, turning by-products like sawdust into useful food ingredients. Aquawise uses AI and satellite data to monitor water quality in shrimp and fish farms without expensive sensors. Clave offers AI tools that help fast-food franchises interpret data and improve operations. CredoSense develops a portable plant diagnostic device that simplifies crop health checks. Forte Biotech’s technology lets shrimp farmers diagnose diseases quickly without expert help. Genesis enhances soil decision-making with a comprehensive soil intelligence platform. Greeny Solutions automates indoor farming with AI and IoT, while Instacrops combines sensors and satellite imagery to optimise irrigation and field performance.

Kadeya replaces single-use bottles with reusable vending systems, cutting plastic waste. MUI-Robotics pushes multisensory AI scent detection for robot applications. Shin Starr Robotics builds autonomous food-preparation robots in delivery trucks. Tensorfield Agriculture targets weeds precisely with AI-powered robotics that avoid pesticides. Unibaio creates biodegradable agrochemical carriers from shrimp waste, and Verley produces bioidentical dairy proteins through precision fermentation to reduce environmental impact.

These startups exemplify how technology and sustainability can converge to tackle pressing agricultural and food system issues, from reducing waste and plastic use to increasing yields and improving animal health.