October 16, 2016

Prairie Crest Capital, a new agtech-focused venture capital firm, has launched in DesMoines, Iowa.

Founded by Principals, Barry Adams and Mark White, the firm will focus investment on early to mid-stage investments in businesses that are developing cutting-edge agricultural technologies, noting the lack of available funding to both agricultural and technological companies in the Midwest.

“Although the Midwest has approximately 20 percent of the population, research and development spending, top research universities, and entrepreneurial talent, our region receives less than five percent of venture capital investment.” said Mark White.

Indeed, over the past three years, although agriculture and downstream activities account for eight percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), the sector accounts for only three percent of total venture capital investments. However, Prairie Crest Capital foresees a coming shift in funding activity with capital commitments to the agtech space increasing from the current $1.2 billion to $7 billion in the coming years.

“With the demand for food and sustainable energy growing and access to arable land and water availability diminishing, it makes for a compelling, dynamic sector, rife with transformational possibilities,” says Mark White.

Adams and White have taken a year to hone the firm’s investment thesis and to identify promising startup investment opportunities. The pair have also built a network of investment partners and technological affiliates and a mentoring and engagement platform through which the firm will be an active investor, offering support to its portfolio companies to optimize their growth and success.

“For Midwest entrepreneurs, location may be an obstacle when seeking not only investment opportunities, but access to feedback networks, later stage capital, technology infrastructure and global marketing contacts,” said Barry Adams. “Our aim is to turn those disadvantages into an advantage by helping them connect the dots and leverage our Midwest location to identify and nurture those breakthrough companies.”

Joining a Growing Movement

Prairie Crest is joining a growing movement of investors capitalizing on the lack of funding and support for agricultural and agtech startups in the U.S. Midwest region.

St. Louis-based venture capital firm, Lewis & Clark Ventures, announced in February of this year that it had closed on its first fund at $104 million. Founded by Tom Hillman, the fund will focus on Series A and B venture capital investments of between $3 million and $7 million in high growth businesses involved in the financial, agriculture, healthcare, enterprise, and human sciences fields across the U.S. Midwest.

More recently, the Greater Des Moines Partnership and Cultivation Corridor partnered in August of this year to launch a new agtech accelerator called The Accelerator that will support the development of Central Iowa as a global hub and incubator of cutting-edge agricultural technology.

The Accelerator will be modeled after the Global Insurance Accelerator that was launched by The Partnership in 2014 and will align closely with the mission of Cultivation Corridor, which has worked to promote Central Iowa as a destination for pioneers in agbioscience, agritechnology, biorenewables, plant sciences, and advanced manufacturing.

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Lynda Kiernan