Purdue University has been hand-picked by Big Idea Ventures LLC, a global leader in early-stage food technology and alternative protein investment, for a new fund to commercialize university intellectual property.
The new Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) fund is a $125 million target fund that will fuel economic development in rural communities across the United States through the commercialization of food and agricultural technologies, protein innovation and other university intellectual property.
“We are proud to join a select group of universities for this new opportunity focused on commercialization, higher education and rural economies,” said Wade Lange, vice president and chief entrepreneurial officer of the Purdue Research Foundation. “Purdue has a strong network of innovators focused on technologies to provide food and agricultural solutions.”
The new fund is designed to capture universities’ breakthrough technologies that will impact the global food supply chain.
“Indiana’s agbioscience economy generates more than $52 billion in revenue with more than half of that coming from value-added food and nutrition,” said Mitch Frazier, president and chief executive officer of AgriNovus Indiana. “Indiana’s strengths across agbioscience, technology, manufacturing and logistics provide a powerful platform for post-pandemic food supply chain innovation and growth.”
