Grainnet

New York and St. Louis—Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) and Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) are each investing $1.5 million in a new partnership to commercialize agricultural and energy innovations, Nidus Investment Partners LP announced Sept. 3.

Nidus Investment Partners LP was created to expedite commercialization of agricultural and energy discoveries through the collaboration of multiple companies and entrepreneurs, working together to select and advance the most promising technologies and take them along the path to product launch.

Nidus provides seed funding, entrepreneurial experience and market knowledge to identify and manage the key risks in advancing early technology toward commercialization.

Bunge and Monsanto are providing funding and expertise to the partnership.

As a partner, each corporation will have an early look at the innovations developed at Nidus.

“The Nidus partnership is a great fit for our company because it enables us to work hand‐in‐hand with new scientists and entrepreneurs who have identified potential solutions to the challenges growers face,” says Monsanto’s Jerry Steiner, Executive Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs.

“The Nidus partnership focuses on selecting and developing new technologies of particular interest to us and can help solve some of the most important challenges in the intersection of agriculture and energy.

"We’re excited about the possibilities that Nidus entrepreneurs will create.”

St. Louis‐based Nidus is led by Vicki Gonzalez, a Washington University in St. Louis MBA with 25 years of corporate and start‐up experience; inventor, executive and entrepreneur Mich Hein, Ph.D.; and Ted Briscoe, who has held executive leadership roles at Apple, Iomega, Vibe Solutions and Ask Jeeves.

Nidus plans to invite three to five additional corporations to participate in the partnership.

Corporate partners and entrepreneurs will meet regularly as part of Nidus’ Strategic Technology Council, sorting out which technologies the partners see as key enablers.

Ralph Quatrano, Ph.D., Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, leads the Council.

Every year, Nidus plans to screen more than 100 new technologies from national labs, entrepreneurs and universities around the globe.

Of those, five to 10 will be selected for potential commercialization each year. Nidus’ corporate partners will have access to this rich pipeline of opportunities.

Nidus also plans to build a parallel fund to allow private and institutional investors to invest in the partnership.

The goal for that fund is to raise a minimum of $20 million.

“Our corporate partners are prospective buyers or users of the technologies we advance,” says Nidus’ Gonzalez.

“Having their input early in the development process is a huge advantage to potential investors.”

For more information, call 314-862-4300.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Monsanto
• Bunge
• Nidus Investment Partners

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