A news release yesterday from Purdue University indicated that, “Two Purdue University agriculture-based startups each have received $50,000 investments from the Purdue Ag-celerator, a plant sciences innovation fund operated by Purdue Ventures, the capital access arm of the Purdue Foundry, with assistance from the Purdue College of Agriculture, Purdue Research Foundation’s Office of Technology Commercializationand the agricultural industry.
“One recipient is Akanocure Pharmaceutical Inc., a startup commercializing an innovative synthesis platform that will allow them to synthesize complex polyketide building blocks to act as crop protection agents (fungicides and herbicides). The other is VinSense LLC, a company developing a software platform to help grape growers and winemakers optimize quality and yields in their vineyards.”
The news item noted that, “The Ag-celerator is a $2 million fund supported through a Purdue Moves initiative and designed to provide critical financial support for Purdue innovators wishing to commercialize patented intellectual property or Purdue know-how technologies in plant sciences, including areas of research in crop optimization, hybrid and seed development and precision agriculture.”
Yesterday’s update added that, “Previous Ag-celerator investments went to Phicrobe LLC, a startup commercializing an innovative method for the inexpensive and rapid detection of pathogenic E. coli in food and food product environments, that received $75,000 in funding and Hydro Grow LLC, a startup developing a refrigerator-sized automated device to grow vegetables in consumers’ homes, that received $25,000.”
