SVG Partners expands THRIVE AgTech into livestock and life sciences in the Midwest with the newest partners National Pork Board, AgriNovus Indiana, Elanco Animal Health, Purdue Foundry and with longtime partner Land O'Lakes
SAN FRANCISCO and INDIANAPOLIS – SVG Partners, a California-based venture and innovation firm, announced Thursday (Nov. 29) the expansion of its West Coast-based THRIVE AgTech program to the Midwest to specifically focus on animal health and to support developments in agriculture.
The expanded accelerator follows the Forbes AgTech Summit held in Indianapolis this fall. The partnership will create a bridge between THRIVE Silicon Valley and the Midwest with new corporate partners including the National Pork Board and AgriNovus Indiana, Elanco Animal Health, long-term THRIVE partner Land O'Lakes and with startup services from Purdue Foundry and opportunities to collaborate with Purdue University.
Purdue's animal husbandry program performs distinct and complementary roles to ensure animal welfare in research, testing, and teaching. THRIVE will work with the National Pork Board and other partners to further strengthen livestock farming around the Midwest. (Purdue University, College of Agriculture photo) Image download
With this expansion, THRIVE aims to develop a targeted pipeline of animal management and animal health startups, validating and scaling new technologies for the livestock industry, and expand its support to emerging plant science and biotechnology startups.
“Monitoring animal health and preventing animal disease outbreaks is critical to our food supply chain,” said SVG Partners founder and CEO John Hartnett. “We look forward to leveraging our new partnerships with the National Pork Board and AgriNovus Indiana, as well as our existing partner Land O'Lakes to provide strategic and technical expertise and key resources to startup companies developing technologies for farmers.”
SVG Partners launched the THRIVE Accelerator in 2014 to accelerate technology for agriculture with early partners including Taylor Farms, Driscoll's Berries, JV Smith and Western Growers. With the Forbes AgTech Summit, SVG Partners recognized an opportunity to expand THRIVE into the Midwest to more easily address the geography's strong livestock sector and biotechnology expertise.
“By working with new local partners in Indiana, we will be able to build on the success of our West Coast-based accelerator to bring targeted technology to farmers in the region and beyond,” said Hartnett.
THRIVE also welcomes the National Pork Council to the AgTech Business and Innovation Platform. Funded by more than 60,000 U.S. pork producers and importers, the National Pork Board focuses its industry work on strengthening pork as a sustainable and responsibly raised protein.
“We look forward to working closely with THRIVE to accelerate animal health technologies. This partnership aligns well with our producers' continued efforts to build on our foundation of providing a healthy, safe, environmentally sustainable product for the food supply chain,” said Bill Even, CEO of the National Pork Board. “In recent decades, pork producers have reduced their carbon footprint and land and water use. Technology is vital in promoting sustainable, efficient production through a commitment to environmental sustainability and animal welfare.”
Elanco, a leading animal health company headquartered in Greenfield, Indiana, also participates in the program. The company works to provide veterinarians, food producers and pet owners with the tools they need to help animals live healthy lives.
“We are pleased to see THRIVE AgTech expand into the Midwest, especially at a time when Indiana's AgBioScience innovation ecosystem is flourishing,” said Aaron Schacht, executive vice president of innovation, regulatory and business development at Elanco. “We believe that programs like THRIVE can provide a valuable and complementary pathway to developing next-generation technologies in animal health. We look forward to the opportunities this will bring.”
This expansion of the program will bring together existing and new partnerships with companies, academics, investors and startups to drive new agtech opportunities for the region's economy.
“Our region is home to a large concentration of livestock producers and companies focused on animal health, and equally strong in its advances in plant sciences,” said Beth Bechdol, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana. “We are pleased to bring SVG Partner's resources and expertise to the Midwest to support the vision to make Indiana the home of world-renowned life science innovation.”
Purdue University is Indiana's land-grant university with a national College of Agriculture and a College of Veterinary Medicine. The Purdue Foundry is a startup accelerator managed by the university's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Technologies emerging from outstanding research in agriculture, veterinary medicine and across campus support a strong pipeline of technology commercialization and startup creation,” said Greg Deason, senior vice president of entrepreneurship and job creation for the Purdue Research Foundation. “We are excited about what THRIVE will bring to the Midwest to advance the growth of the entire region in agrosciences and agbiosciences.”
THRIVE's existing partners, such as Corteva, EY and Trimble, already have significant resources in the Midwest and will help deepen THRIVE's business in row crop agriculture. As another strategic geographic partner, Purdue Foundry will help anchor THRIVE's expansion into the Midwest by connecting university talent to THRIVE's network and resources.
A THRIVE partner since 2016, Land O'Lakes is committed to modernizing agriculture through digitization.
“Land O'Lakes is committed to bringing valuable technology tools to market to help farmers produce more with less, in the most sustainable way,” said Teddy Bekele, CTO of Land O'Lakes. “We look forward to working with THRIVE and other Midwest partners to accelerate animal health technologies to strengthen our food supply chain.”
THRIVE's Midwest expansion was announced today (Thursday, Nov. 29) during AgriNovus' fourth annual Agbioscience Innovation Summit in Indiana.
For more information about THRIVE, visit www.thriveagtech.com.
About SVG Partners
Since 2011, SVG Partners has been building a global AgTech innovation platform that accelerates, invests and partners with Fortune 500 entrepreneurs, investors and food, agriculture and technology companies. Founded in 2014, THRIVE AgTech's mission is to solve key challenges of the industry, test technologies in the field and across the supply chain, and create partnerships across the ecosystem to shorten the time it takes to bring innovation to market. SVG Partners is based in Silicon Valley, California.
About the National Pork Board
The National Pork Council is a group of 15 pork producers or importers, appointed by Pork Law Representatives to the National Pork Forum and appointed by the US Secretary of Agriculture. The board collects National Pork Checkoff funds and uses those dollars to implement promotional, research and consumer information programs designed to enhance the marketing of U.S. pork and pork products.
About Elanco
Founded in 1954, Elanco provides comprehensive products and knowledge services to improve animal health and food-animal production in more than 90 countries around the world. We value innovation, both in scientific research and in daily operations, and strive to foster a collaborative work environment for more than 5,800 employees worldwide. Together with our customers, we are committed to raising awareness of global food security and celebrating and supporting the human-animal bond. Our global headquarters and research facilities are located in Greenfield, Indiana.
About AgriNovus Indiana
AgriNovus Indiana is the state's initiative focused on promoting the agbiosciences sector as a nationally recognized leader through education, research and talent development. strategic partnerships between companies, industry associations, government and universities; the creation and support of new companies; and branding and targeted promotions to elevate the industry. AgriNovus Indiana is part of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, an effort dedicated to the continued prosperity and growth of the region. To learn more, visit agrinovusindiana.com.
About the Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator at Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators build startups. Managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, the Purdue Foundry was named a top recipient in the 2016 Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities' 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity University Recognition and Awards Program for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.
About Land O'Lakes
Land O'Lakes, Inc., one of America's leading agriculture and food companies, is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations spanning from agricultural production to consumer foods. With annual sales of $14 billion in 2017, Land O'Lakes is one of the nation's largest cooperatives, ranking 216th on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 97 years of operation, Land O'Lakes today operates some of the the most respected brands in agriculture and food production, including LAND O LAKES® Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition, WinField United and Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN. The company operates in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. The headquarters of Land O'Lakes, Inc. are located in Arden Hills, Minn.
Media Contacts:
Emily Breslin, SVG Partners, (650) 666-7521, Emily.breslin@svgpartners.com
Cynthia Sequin, Purdue Research Foundation, (765) 588-3340, casequin@prf.org
Libby Fritz, AgriNovus Indiana, (574) 595-5154, lfritz@agrinovusindiana.com
Colleen Parr Dekker, Elanco, (317) 989-7011, parr_dekker_colleen@elanco.com
