AgIntel has won the inaugural Innovation Pitch Competition at the Florida Chamber Foundation Technology and Innovation Summit. The company, which offers a patented AI-powered platform for large-scale crop insights, aims to help farmers improve yields, reduce waste, and increase profitability. AgIntel’s technology is supported by enterprise contracts and gross margins over 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.”
The event featured several startups presenting their business solutions before a panel of judges. The judges included Kevin Burgoyne from Florida Venture Forum, Frank Downing from ARK Invest, Robert Harvey from Florida Opportunity Fund, Mitchel Laskey from DeepWork Capital, Linda Olson from Tampa Bay Wave, TJ Villamil from eMerge Americas, and was hosted by Dr. Keith Richard of the Florida Chamber Foundation.
Other finalists were ZoraSafe—founded by Catherine Karow—which provides cybersecurity solutions for vulnerable users; VeriChem Inc., led by Jay Letendre and focused on forensic technology for drug detection; Baseline Bio under CEO Jimmy Lee with new approaches for treating Type 1 diabetes; and Energy to Power Solutions (E2P), led by Dr. Christopher Rey designing superconducting magnets and cryogenic systems for defense applications.
As part of its prize package, AgIntel will present at the 2026 Florida Venture Capital Conference—one of the nation’s largest gatherings of venture capitalists—and will participate in eMerge Americas’ Global Startup Accelerator + Showcase.
A follow-up virtual webinar open to summit participants and business leaders is scheduled for September 15 at 11 am. The session aims to continue discussions on advancing tech leadership in Florida.
The Florida Chamber Foundation describes itself as a statewide research and leadership organization focused on long-term strategies for economic competitiveness in partnership with regional leaders. Its work includes initiatives powered by its Community Development Partnership Council. More information about supporting or joining these efforts can be found at flchamber.com/cdp or by contacting Dr. Keith Richard at krichard@flchamber.com or 850-521-1231.
