Private capital development company, Technology Accel Partners LLC (TechAccel) has secured its first two investments within a month’s time.

 

Founded last year by former MRIGlobal chief executive, Michael Helmstetter, the Bicknell Family Holding Co. and Kansas State University, TechAccel’s goal is to make investments and forge connections with universities that will advance high-risk technologies and discoveries in the agriculture, food ingredient, and animal health sectors with the ultimate target of commercialization.

 

The first investment for an undisclosed amount, was formed between TechAccel and Kansas State University regarding a biopesticide licensing agreement for a technology that Michael Helmstetter says could be a ‘game changer’.

 

"This is a technology that we believe can be disruptive relative to managing pesticides. … It will have an impact on insects that are top on the list in terms of crop damage," Helmstetter said.

 

Although there remains a lot of research and development still to conduct, the biopesticide, which can ‘silence’ a key gene in a specific insect, making it die, or target viruses that affect aquaculture production, has vast potential across multiple markets.

 

The second investment occurred in mid-August when TechAccel helped close a Series A round raising a total of $7.3 million for Benson Hill Biosystems, located in St. Louis and Durham, North Carolina. TechAccel decided to commit to Benson Hill to back its photosynthesis technology – a discovery that the MIT Review called “a 2015 breakthrough technology of the year” and can help plants grow faster and increase yields even in hostile environments.

 

From its relationship with Benson Hill, TechAccel could realize a return on investment through an initial public offering (IPO), an acquisition, or a spin-off company based on new technological discoveries.

 

Although the amounts of the investments were not disclosed, TechAccel’s investments will typically range between $500,000 and $1 million each. The company plans on investing in six companies or high-risk technologies per year, and currently has about a dozen deals being taken under consideration.

 

"I believe in my heart that Kansas City has an opportunity to go to the next level in terms of international recognition as an agricultural innovation hub," Helmstetter said. "And I believe TechAccel can play a major role in that."