AgIntel has won the inaugural Florida Chamber Foundation Technology and Innovation Summit Innovation Pitch Competition. The company, which uses a patented AI-powered platform to deliver large-scale crop insights, aims to help farmers optimize yields, reduce waste, and increase profitability. AgIntel reports that its technology is supported by enterprise contracts and gross margins exceeding 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 significance of the event. “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,” he said. “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 competition featured several startups from across the state presenting their business solutions before receiving feedback and scores from a panel of judges. The judges included Kevin Burgoyne of Florida Venture Forum, Frank Downing of ARK Invest, Robert Harvey of Florida Opportunity Fund, Mitchel Laskey of DeepWork Capital, Linda Olson of Tampa Bay Wave, TJ Villamil of eMerge Americas, with Dr. Keith Richard from the Florida Chamber Foundation serving as emcee.
Other finalists in the pitch competition were ZoraSafe—founded by Catherine Karow—which creates cybersecurity solutions for vulnerable users; VeriChem Inc., led by Jay Letendre, developing forensic technology for drug detection; Baseline Bio—headed by Jimmy Lee—pursuing new approaches for treating Type 1 diabetes; and Energy to Power Solutions (E2P), led by Dr. Christopher Rey, designing advanced 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 largest gatherings of venture capitalists in the country—and earn a spot in eMerge Americas’ Global Startup Accelerator + Showcase program. This provides access to mentors, bootcamps, networking opportunities, and investors.
A complimentary virtual webinar will be held on Monday, September 15th at 11 am for participants in the Technology & Innovation Summit as well as other business leaders in Florida. The event aims to continue discussions on advancing technology and innovation leadership within the state.
The Florida Chamber Foundation describes itself as a statewide research and leadership organization focused on long-term strategies for economic competitiveness and community prosperity in line with its Six Pillars framework. It works with regional partners through initiatives powered by its Community Development Partnership Council—a group contributing expertise and resources toward projects that impact communities throughout Florida.
