European accelerator StartLife is collaborating with Corteva Agriscience, a global player in crop protection and seed technologies. The move is being slated as an “important milestone” for agri-food tech advancement that will enable solutions through open innovation and create a bridge between the start-ups in the StartLife ecosystem and Corteva.

The collaboration will also foster knowledge sharing between corporate players, start-ups and investors aligned to deliver positive change in the agri-food value chain.

Building a future-proof ecosystem
StartLife’s global innovation ecosystem includes hundreds of global start-ups in the agri-food tech space, along with notable VC and corporate partners such as Astanor, Anterra Capital, The YieldLab and Rabobank.

As one of the first accelerators globally committed to AgriFoodTech solutions, StartLife has been operating since 2010 and closely collaborates with its co-founder, Wageningen University & Research.

Corteva has been promoting innovative solutions in the European agricultural landscape since its inception in 2018. Three years later, it opened an integrated R&D center in Eshbach, Germany, followed by the launch of its first Applied Seed Technology Center in Europe, the CSAT, a year later.

A catalyst for change?
Corteva recently introduced Corteva Catalyst, a platform aimed at accessing and commercializing agricultural innovations aligned with the company’s R&D goals, fostering value generation and positive change.

Corteva Catalyst collaborates with entrepreneurs and innovators to expedite the advancement of pioneering technologies in their early stages, facilitating farmers’ ability to produce food and fostering the resilience of the food system.

“Corteva is a global player in agriculture that brings to market innovations in biotechnology, advanced crop protection systems and seed technologies that improve the lives of farmers, communities and consumers around the world,” explains Laura Thissen, interim managing director of StartLife.

“By leveraging the company’s R&D pipeline, start-ups affiliated with StartLife will gain precious insights and support to inform and accelerate their path to market and ability to scale breakthrough technologies into real-world commercial applications.”

“StartLife has been a pioneer in promoting global innovation in the agri-food technology space, helping grow a host of successful start-ups that went on to drive impact in their application markets,” shares Tom Greene, lead at Corteva Catalyst.

Corteva will also partner at StartLife’s upcoming F&A Next summit, one of the most important agri-food tech events globally, which will take place in Wageningen later this week.