Year Founded
2020
Website
www.agrsensors.com
Value Proposition
With affordable micro-sensors and an intuitive interface in the palm of your hand, precise identification is no longer out of reach.
Awards & Mentions
  • First place in 2020 Swarm Starter Business Competition
  • First place in 2021 Forbes Entrepreneurship Competition
  • First place in 2021 Mark Ain Business Model Competition
  • Inaugural Recipient of Goldstein Innovation Grant
  • Member of UR Student Incubator at NextCorps
  • Participant of VentureWell E-Team Accelerator and grant recipient
  • Winner of Exemplary Entrepreneurial Values Prize at OPENminds Showcase
  • Winner of Qualcomm IP Portfolio Growth Award

Device That Sees The Invisible

The idea for Advanced Growing Resources Inc. (AGR™) came to Francis Pellegrino ’22 in his basement. Disturbed by seeing his family’s plants whither, he became curious – is there a better way to know why? Turns out there was: together with fellow Handler Scholars, Heriniaina Rajaoberison ’22 and Andrew Thankson ’22, AGR was founded. Using novel optical scanning techniques and IoT solutions, their product Spectre can help in early-stage crop disease detection and crop health management. Aside from precision agriculture, other applications of the device include environmental monitoring, quality control, laboratory science, and more.

AGR is a firm believer in non-diluted funding, and they took full advantage of a variety of grants offered by the Ain Center, UofR, and other groups in the country. To name a few, AGR got 1st place in Swarm Starter ’20, Forbes Entrepreneurial Competition ’21, and Mark Ain Business Model Competition ’21, as well as received grants from NextCorps, NSF, NIST, and VentureWell.

Now, AGR is going through a transformation phase. Challenges in securing VC funding due to market timing did not faze the startup: while two of the founders are working in top-notch corporations and one is getting his Ph.D. under a Nobel Prize-winning professor, the team is looking to go to market soon. AGR is equipped with a brand-new action plan and a simplified solution, and we look forward to their success!