Eatable Adventures launches NOVO, a deeptech accelerator bringing AI, biotech and robotics into the food industry

The equity-free program, supported by Bizkaia, will select ten international startups developing breakthrough technologies to accelerate their application in agriculture and food through a 12-week hybrid program based in Bilbao.

Bilbao, August 4, 2026 — Eatable Adventures has opened applications for NOVO Agrifoodtech, a new international acceleration program designed to help deeptech startups apply technologies developed beyond the food industry, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, advanced materials and quantum computing, to agriculture and food production.

Supported by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, and developed in collaboration with the Basque technology center AZTI, NOVO represents a new approach for the accelerator. Rather than focusing exclusively on food startups, the program seeks companies developing breakthrough technologies in sectors such as healthcare, aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing or finance that could address some of the food system's biggest challenges.

The launch comes at a time when agrifood investment is increasingly shifting towards science-based innovation. While global agrifoodtech funding remained broadly stable at $16.2 billion in 2025, deeptech now accounts for 32% of all investment, up from 22% a decade ago, according to AgFunder's Global AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2026. The report also found that seed-stage deeptech startups raised funding rounds at a 78% premium compared with non-deeptech companies, reflecting growing investor confidence in technologies capable of solving increasingly complex industrial and environmental challenges.

"Deep technologies are transforming every industrial sector, and food should be no exception," said Mila Valcárcel, Managing Partner and co-founder at Eatable Adventures. "Many of the most promising solutions for agriculture and food were originally developed elsewhere, and turning them into real businesses means testing them in real market conditions. That's exactly what NOVO is built for: our methodology, refined across more than 50 acceleration programs we've run worldwide, our global ecosystem of investors and corporates, and a genuine opportunity for founders to run pilots with leading industrial companies here in the Basque Country."

The program will select ten international startups with technologies already validated at proof-of-concept level and ambitions to expand into the European market.

Priority areas include:

• Artificial intelligence and data technologies applied to problems across the agrifood data chain. Technology that could come from sectors such as software, retail and fashion, automotive or health.

• Biotechnology, including precision fermentation and cell cultivation. Techniques that could originate in areas such as biopharma, synthetic biology or clinical diagnostics.

• Robotics and industrial automation applied to food production and distribution—technology that could come from manufacturing, automotive, logistics or defense.

• Advanced materials for food packaging and preservation. Innovation that could draw on chemistry, industrial packaging, aerospace or electronics.

• Advanced and quantum computing applied to problems such as molecular discovery and supply chain optimization. Technology that could originate in pharmaceutical simulation, chemistry or finance.

Selected startups will participate in a 12-week hybrid program combining online mentoring with two in-person bootcamps in Bilbao. Participants will receive technical validation support from AZTI, opportunities to develop pilot projects with leading Basque agrifood companies, access to Eatable Adventures' international investor network, and continued post-program support after completion. Participation is 100% equity-free.

Beyond acceleration, NOVO offers startups direct access to one of Europe's most industrially connected innovation ecosystems. Through its network of research centers, corporate partners and R&D capabilities, the Basque Country provides an environment where emerging technologies can be tested and scaled in collaboration with industry.

Applications and further information are available until September at: https://novoagrifoodtech.com/