Innovation Endeavors and Flextronics' Lab IX Launch Farm2050, a Collective to Help Solve Global Food Challenge

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Nov 20, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- Today, Innovation  Endeavors and Flextronics' Lab IX announced the launch of Farm2050, a collective  of industry partners in agriculture. Farm2050's mission is to catalyze  groundbreaking innovation by providing entrepreneurs the network and resources  to build the foundation for a better agricultural future. The collective to date  includes leading companies such as AGCO, DuPont, Google, Sensitech Inc. (a part  of UTC Building & Industrial Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp),  and 3D Robotics.

Farm2050 presents a new type of ecosystem that goes far beyond capital. The  collective will support entrepreneurs who are working on technology and  innovation in agriculture through a variety of means, including capital,  manufacturing capabilities, test facilities, and mentorship.

This collective was created to address global food security challenges by  leveraging technology and innovation to build big agricultural businesses. To  meet the demand of a growing population, food production must increase by ~70  percent in an increasingly challenging environment characterized by climate  change, resource scarcity, and evolving diets. This implies significant growth  in an already large market -- estimated at $120 billion in net farm income  annually -- and robust opportunity to start meaningful ventures.

Dror Berman, Managing Partner at Innovation Endeavors, reaffirmed the  opportunity for technology to address the food challenge: "By 2050, we will need  to feed more than 10 billion people. This is a tall order but also the type of  challenge that technologists should be working to solve."

Historically, technology has been critical to supporting the world's growth.  Berman mentions, "100 years ago we saw the Haber-Bosch process enable fertilizer  development. 50 years ago we saw the refrigerated truck facilitate the  long-distance transport of perishables. And today we're seeing the emergence of  robotics and machine learning applied to agricultural practices."

Farm2050 is excited about the way entrepreneurs can apply cutting-edge  technologies to improve food production and how advances in data science and  robotics enable the world to rethink the way we seed, cultivate, and harvest  food. Although data science and robotics are important themes, Farm2050 keeps  its doors open to all types of innovation that can help to improve agriculture.

"We are excited about entrepreneurs working at the intersection of emerging  technology and big market opportunities to build things with the power to truly  change the world," said Lior Susan, Head of Lab IX and New Ventures at  Flextronics. "As talented founders address the food challenge, we look forward  to providing access to a powerful ecosystem of innovative people, ideas,  markets, and resources that can be leveraged as we can collaborate to improve  and enable our agricultural future."

For more information and to bring your ideas to the  table, please visit www.farm2050.com and "like" us on Facebook:  facebook.com/Farm.2050.ag

Tweet this: Congrats to @iendeavors and  @FlextronicsLab9 on the launch of the @Farm2050 collective. To learn more visit:  http://www.farm2050.com/ #globalfoodchallenge #agtech

Innovation Endeavors: Innovation Endeavors combines  an evergreen VC fund with a unique approach to venture creation to help  entrepreneurs build lasting companies that will have significant financial and  human impact. With offices in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv and backed by Eric Schmidt,  we have the ability to rally behind entrepreneurs and support them as they  develop first-of-their-kind technologies to solve challenging problems in large  markets globally. To learn more about our community of bold, passionate  entrepreneurs, visit www.InnovationEndeavors.com.

Flextronics' Lab IX: Flextronics' Lab IX is creating  the world's largest hardware ecosystem by bringing together startups, OEMs, and  technology partners. Flextronics created Lab IX to help disruptive technology  companies cross the chasm from prototype to production. Lab IX offers startups  and entrepreneurs around the world the ultimate partnership that can help any  hardware initiative become a leading hardware venture with the fastest time to  market. Lab IX is the venture arm of Flextronics, a global leader in design,  manufacturing, distribution, and aftermarket services. To learn more about Lab  IX and Flextronics, visit www.labix.io.

Media Contacts:
Innovation Endeavors
Kim Snodgrass
kim@innovationendeavors.com
Skype: 562.587.9980

Flextronics
Renee Brotherton
Renee.Brotherton@flextronics.com

Skype: 408.646.5103

SOURCE: Innovation Endeavors and Flextronics' Lab IX