Description

Thursday 18^th June 2026

A focused, 4-hour summit connecting startups, academics, investors, farmers, and regulators to turn AgriTech innovation into on-farm impact.
Cambridge, date TBC, 40-50 places

Register interest

Why this event exists

UK farming is being asked to do more with less, lower emissions, protect soil and biodiversity, manage water stress, and stay profitable. The gap is not ideas, it’s translation. Too many promising solutions never get properly trialled on real farms, with the right partners in the room.

AgriTech Connect is built to change that. Four hours, tightly curated, designed to convert conversations into pilots, partnerships, and investable progress.

What you’ll get

• Practical insight, what’s working now, what’s failing, what farmers actually need

• Cross-sector alignment, researchers, operators, policymakers, and capital in one room

• Real opportunities, pilots, partnerships, deployment pathways, and early deal flow

• High signal networking, 50–100 people, no time wasted

Who should attend

Farmers and farm managers
Bring your real constraints. Shape priorities. Leave with trial-ready options.

Startups and scaleups
Get direct feedback from end users and serious partners. Put pilots on the table.

Academics and translational teams
Find field testbeds, collaborators, and pathways from lab to deployment.

Investors and corporate partners
Meet a curated set of ventures and pilot opportunities with grounded demand.

Regulators and policymakers
Pressure test adoption barriers and enabling frameworks in a real world context.

Format, 4 hours, designed for outcomes

1) Opening scene-setter
Where UK farming is heading, and what adoption actually requires.

2) State-of-the-art lightning talks
Short, high quality presentations on sustainability, productivity, resilience, and digital tools.

3) Interactive roundtable, setting real priorities
Farmers, regulators, academics, investors, and operators define the problems worth solving, now.

4) Rapid showcases, 3 solutions, 5 minutes each
Tightly selected demos focused on deployability and measurable impact.

5) Focused networking
Structured introductions, not aimless mingling. Designed to spark collaborations and pilots.

What we’re looking for

Speakers
People with domain depth and practical delivery experience, not sales decks.

Showcases
Startups with something that can be trialled, measured, and improved with farmers.

Partners and sponsors
Organisations that want real pilot pathways, not logo placement.

Button row:
Request an invite | Apply to speak | Apply to showcase | Sponsor enquiry

Example themes, to keep it grounded

• Soil health and regenerative practice support

• Water efficiency and irrigation intelligence

• Methane and nitrogen reduction tools

• Precision application and input optimisation

• Farm robotics and automation

• Farm data interoperability and trusted measurement

• Biodiversity measurement and reporting

• Supply chain traceability and verification

Location and audience

Cambridge, venue TBC
50–100 participants
Curated attendance to keep discussions practical, commercial, and farm-relevant.

About the Innovation Forum

The Innovation Forum connects researchers, founders, operators, and investors to accelerate translation and commercial adoption in deep tech and life science adjacent sectors. The Cambridge branch focuses on building practical, high trust convenings that lead to work, not just talk.

Get involved

If you want farming innovation that actually lands on farms, not just slides, this is the room.