AgIntel has won the first-ever Innovation Pitch Competition at the Florida Chamber Foundation Technology and Innovation Summit. The company, which uses a patented AI-powered platform to deliver crop insights for farmers, aims to help optimize yields, reduce waste, and improve profitability. AgIntel reports enterprise contracts and gross margins above 90 percent.
“I want to thank everyone who put on this event,” said Matt Donovan, CEO & Co-Founder of AgIntel. “I know the Florida Chamber is striving to make Florida a great place for innovation. We built our company in Florida, for Florida’s needs, but also to be able to export to the world…It’s been a pleasure to be able to come here and to participate in this first pitch competition.”
Mark Wilson, President & CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Foundation, commented on the competition: “The Florida Innovation Pitch Competition is an opportunity to showcase the cool innovations being born out of Florida and Florida’s future economy will be driven by innovators, like our five finalists, who solve real-world challenges with scalable solutions. A special congratulations to Matt Donovan and AgIntel for taking home the win. Their work shows how Florida technology can strengthen key industries like agriculture while making Florida more competitive on the global stage.”
During the event, five startups presented their business solutions before receiving feedback from judges including Kevin Burgoyne (Florida Venture Forum), Frank Downing (ARK Invest), Robert Harvey (Florida Opportunity Fund), Mitchel Laskey (DeepWork Capital), Linda Olson (Tampa Bay Wave), TJ Villamil (eMerge Americas). Dr. Keith Richard from the Florida Chamber Foundation served as emcee.
Finalists included ZoraSafe—founded by Catherine Karow—for cybersecurity solutions; VeriChem Inc.—led by Jay Letendre—developing forensic technology for drug detection; Baseline Bio—headed by Jimmy Lee—working on new approaches for Type 1 diabetes treatment; and Energy to Power Solutions (E2P)—with Dr. Christopher Rey as president—focused on superconducting magnets and cryogenic systems for defense applications.
As part of its prize package, AgIntel will present at the 2026 Florida Venture Capital Conference—a major gathering of venture capitalists—and will join eMerge Americas’ Global Startup Accelerator + Showcase program with access to mentorships and networking opportunities.
A complimentary virtual webinar aimed at continuing efforts in advancing tech leadership in Florida is scheduled for September 15th at 11 am for summit participants and business leaders.
The Florida Chamber Foundation describes itself as a statewide organization dedicated to long-term strategies supporting economic growth in areas such as talent development, infrastructure improvement, technology adoption, government efficiency reforms, and quality-of-life initiatives across communities. The group works through partnerships like its Community Development Partnership Council that contributes expertise and resources toward these goals.
For information about joining or supporting these initiatives visit flchamber.com/cdp or contact Dr. Keith Richard at krichard@flchamber.com or 850-521-1231.
