NC State is the first of a planned five academic partners to benefit from on-campus commercialisation experts and access to capital.
Big Idea Ventures, a US-based venture capital fund focused on food and agricultural technologies, has launched the Generation Food Rural Partners (GFPR) fund and partnered North Carolina (NC) State University.
GFPR has a $125m target. NC State University the first of at least five academic collaborators, which will all benefit from an on-campus venture centre and access to experts from Big Idea Ventures.
The fund will aim to help commercialise intellectual property and set up food and agtech spinouts in rural communities near the collaborating university. It selected NC State University as the first partner due to its expertise in plant breeding and agricultural research.
Wade Fulghum, assistant vice-chancellor for research commercialisation at NC State University, said: “We are thrilled that Big Idea Ventures has recognised NC State’s world-class agricultural research capabilities, and this opportunity aligns perfectly with our mission to create prosperity for our state and reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of this university.
“With our Think and Do mindset, we believe research has its greatest value when it is at work in the real world creating opportunities and solving problems. We are delighted to be working with this team from the very beginning.”
