The agtech industry has long been a focus of, and a success story within, the St. Louis economy. The region’s strategic geographic location makes it an ideal place for growing agtech startups amid Fortune 500 companies, cutting-edge research facilities, and 1,000+ plant science PhDs.
In spite of long development timelines for early stage agtech startups, companies like Spearhead Bio, TerraBlaster, and CoverCress Inc. are thriving, thanks to the vision and support of investors. But more is needed.
The Bottom Line: Early-stage startups continue to need support from investors that understand the landscape, appreciate longer term timelines, and can provide patient capital. “The ag space is one that has a significant amount of opportunity that is underserved from a global investment perspective,” says Scott Porter, managing director at Cascadia Capital. And in St. Louis, capturing global support means not just growing the agtech sector, but growing the regional economy too.