Seed and pesticide giant Corteva on Tuesday announced a formalized innovation hub to accelerate market development of new agricultural technologies.
Corteva Catalyst will serve as the investment arm within the company's research and development department, Tom Greene, senior director of external innovation investment, said in an interview with Agriculture Dive. The unit will invest in early-stage companies that align with Corteva's four research priorities: genome editing; biologicals and natural products; technology platforms; and decision science.
"Corteva Catalyst is putting a stake in the ground on our investment effort," Greene said. "What we're attempting to do is step up our engagement and really become a more active participant in this early-stage innovation space."
Catalyst ultimately aims to commercialize groundbreaking technology that will directly benefit farmers. With the initiative still in its early stages, the company is canvassing startups with the help of artificial intelligence to find potential partners.
A machine learning platform is assisting in efforts to landscape the sector and identify technologies relevant to Corteva's research priorities, Greene said. By the end of the year, Corteva plans to have identified and executed several investments or strategic collaborations.
"It’s less about a ROI on a specific company exit and more about getting products into growers hands," Greene said. "We really want to find technologies that really impact growers and drive value."
