Purdue growing Ag-Celerator Fund
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Purdue University is expanding eligibility requirements for its $2 million Ag-Celerator Fund. The university says the fund, which was previously open to startups in the plant sciences sector, is now open to startups in any agricultural field.
The Ag-Celerator Fund is a semiannual competition that awards funding to entrepreneurs whose startups commercialize technology developed at Purdue. It was established in 2015 by the university’s College of Agriculture and the Purdue Research Foundation.
Bernie Engel, senior associate dean of research and graduate education at the College of Agriculture, says additional funding provided through the Purdue Next Moves initiative allowed for the fund to be opened up to startups in any ag-related field, including animal health.
The deadline to apply for the fall 2021 Ag-Celerator is September 20 and Purdue will host a virtual callout and information session on September 7.
The spring 2021 Ag-Celerator funding was awarded to GRYFN, a startup in West Lafayette that has developed a multi-sensor technology platform to collect research data for plant breeders. Chief Executive Officer Matt Bechdol says the funding “will add momentum to our analytics efforts, and better position us with customers, partners and investors in the coming months.”
You can learn more about the Ag-Celerator by clicking here.