TechAccel
TechAccel is a privately held technology and venture development firm founded in 2014 in Overland Park, Kansas, that invests equity and sponsors research to advance early-stage agriculture, animal-health, and food-technology innovations from universities and startups to commercial milestones for strategic acquisition or licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersOverland Park, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What TechAccel does
TechAccel LLC is a privately held technology and venture development company founded in 2014 in Overland Park, Kansas, that sources, funds, and advances early-stage innovations in agriculture, animal health, and food technology. It operates an "Equity + Science Advancement" model in which it deploys sponsored research, technical due-diligence, and equity capital into startups, university spinouts, and licensable platform technologies, then advances those assets toward commercial milestones for acquisition or return to a strategic partner's portfolio. The firm has built relationships with 25+ universities including UC Davis, Kansas State, Iowa State, University of Missouri, and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and holds seven Master Research Agreements supporting faculty consultancy and pre-commercial research.
TechAccel's proprietary technology stack centers on RNA interference (RNAi) for low-cost bioprocessed RNA and biopesticides, MSH1 epigenetic technology licensed from Penn State through portfolio company Epicrop Technologies, and gene editing for disease-resistant crops. These platforms are commercialized through wholly-owned subsidiary RNAissance Ag LLC — which operates RNAi-based insecticides targeting diamondback moth, fall armyworm, and White spot syndrome virus in shrimp — and through two joint ventures with Epicrop, EpiBerry and EpiCanola, focused on berry and canola crops. The firm also retains equity positions in a portfolio that includes Benson Hill (gene editing and machine-learning crop design, went public via SPAC), Agrivida (GRAINZYME feed enzymes), GreenLight Biosciences (RNA manufacturing), Plastomics (chloroplast transgene stacking), Sound Agriculture, and Locus Biosciences (acquired TechAccel-funded EpiBiome in 2017).
Monetization combines professional services revenue (sponsored university research, consulting, and stage-gate program management), licensing and royalty streams from portfolio and licensed IP, and equity-driven returns from portfolio exits — exemplified by the 2021 sale of a 70% stake in Covenant Animal Health Partners to NovaQuest Capital Management. Customers and partners are global agribusiness strategics, animal-health companies, food-technology firms, and venture capital firms that co-invest alongside TechAccel. Headcount is approximately 30–40, supported by offices and lab space in Overland Park and a 2,000-square-foot fermentation-and-manufacturing facility at BRDG Park on the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center campus in St. Louis.
TechAccel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- TechAccel
- Legal name
- TechAccel LLC
- Website
- https://techaccel.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- TechAccel is a privately held technology and venture development firm founded in 2014 in Overland Park, Kansas, that invests equity and sponsors research to advance early-stage agriculture, animal-health, and food-technology innovations from universities and startups to commercial milestones for strategic acquisition or licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
TechAccel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Biotechnology Venture Development
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Process Development & Tech Transfer Services (CDMO) (HLAGABAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Process Development & Tech Transfer (Upstream/Downstream/MSAT) (HLAGAGAE), Bioprocess Development & Scale-Up/Scale-Down Platforms (DoE, high-throughput, modeling) (HLAAAJAF)
Keywords
Where TechAccel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Overland Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
TechAccel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Equity Investments in Startups: TechAccel makes equity investments in high-potential agriculture, animal health, and food tech startups, deploying capital and scientific expertise to advance platforms toward commercialization
- Science Advancement Services: Science advancement and de-risking research services provided to universities, strategics, and portfolio companies; sponsors research at universities to advance and de-risk portfolio technologies
- University Technology Consulting: Contracts university faculty as consultants for investment due diligence activities and research scoping
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
TechAccel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
TechAccel is a technology and venture development company that sources breakthrough innovations from universities, global strategics, and startups, advancing them through de-risking research and equity investment. The firm deploys capital and scientific expertise into early-stage agriculture, animal health, and food technology platforms, then transfers the de-risked assets to strategic acquirers or back to investor portfolios. Its portfolio includes RNAi biopesticide subsidiary RNAissance Ag and epigenetic crop joint ventures EpiBerry and EpiCanola.
Product overview
TechAccel is a technology and venture development company that invests in, acquires, and advances early-stage technologies in the agriculture, animal health, and food technology sectors. The company's core offering is its Science Advancement Services, which focuses on platform technologies sourced from start-ups, universities, and industry. TechAccel operates through subsidiaries including RNAissance Ag (RNAi-based insecticides), EpiBerry and EpiCanola (joint ventures for epigenetic crop enhancement), and maintains equity relationships with portfolio companies like Benson Hill, Agrivida, Epicrop Technologies, GreenLight Biosciences, Plastomics, and Sound Agriculture.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RNAissance Ag: Ag biotechnology startup developing novel RNAi-based insecticides for control of destructive pests such as diamondback moth and fall armyworm.
- EpiBerry
- EpiCanola
Products and services
- RNAissance Ag Biotechnology subsidiary developing novel RNAi-based insecticides (including sprayable RNAi products) targeting destructive pests such as diamondback moth and fall armyworm. Aimed at agricultural input providers and farmers seeking targeted alternatives to conventional insecticides.
- EpiBerry Joint venture with Epicrop Technologies applying MSH1-based epigenetic trait selection to enhance growth and stress resilience in berry crops without altering DNA sequence.
- EpiCanola Joint venture with Epicrop Technologies applying MSH1-based epigenetic trait selection to enhance growth and stress resilience in canola without altering DNA sequence.
- Science Advancement Services Core service offering that identifies breakthrough scientific innovations from universities, startups, and global strategics, then advances them through de-risking research and stage-gate project management to commercial milestones. Designed for universities, strategic partners, and portfolio startups seeking capital plus scientific expertise to bridge the gap from laboratory discovery to market.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 20-29% yield advantage in tomatoes and 30-35% in sorghum under stress conditions from epigenetic technology
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use TechAccel
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
TechAccel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
TechAccel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- RNAgriminorRNAissance Ag (TechAccel subsidiary) acquired assets of RNAgri LLC, a St. Louis-based startup, adding manufacturing capabilities.
- Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2)coreRNAissance Ag was selected as part of the first agtech cohort in the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) program.
- Donald Danforth Plant Science CentercoreStrategic partnership with Path To Commercialization Program providing up to $250,000 in grants for proof-of-concept studies. TechAccel co-located its science team at BRDG Park on the Danforth Center campus.
- Kansas State UniversitycoreTechAccel-sponsored research in development of heat-tolerant and drought-resistant wheat. TechAccel has licensed the intellectual property and is funding science advancement.
- University of California, DaviscoreSince 2016, TechAccel has participated in the Venture Catalyst STAIR-Plus program supporting commercialization milestones. In 2018, TechAccel invested in expansion of Venture Catalyst STAIR grants.
- University of MissouricoreOne of 25+ universities in TechAccel's strategic network for innovation sourcing and research advancement in agriculture and plant science.
- Iowa State UniversitycorePart of strategic university network for de-risking and advancement research in agriculture and animal science.
- Swansea UniversitycoreInternational university partner in TechAccel's research network for agriculture and food technology innovation.
- Epicrop TechnologiescoreTechAccel invested in Epicrop and formed joint ventures EpiBerry (for berries) and EpiCanola (for canola) to advance epigenetic technology for enhanced crop growth.
- Reliance Animal Health PartnerscoreCo-founded Covenant Animal Health Partners in 2018 with TechAccel for development of animal health products.
- Locus BiosciencesminorIn 2017, Locus acquired TechAccel-funded EpiBiome, a microbiome engineering firm, for its bacteriophage discovery platform.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
TechAccel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Corteva Catalyst: Corteva (via Corteva Catalyst and its open-innovation programs) invests in and partners with agtech startups in gene editing, biologicals, and digital agriculture, comparable to TechAccel's portfolio strategy.
- Leaps by Bayer: Leaps by Bayer is the corporate venture arm of Bayer, investing in breakthrough agricultural and life-science platforms with similar technologies (gene editing, RNAi, biologicals) to TechAccel's portfolio focus.
- Syngenta Ventures: Syngenta Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Syngenta Group, deploying capital into agtech and crop science startups, overlapping directly with TechAccel's RNAi, gene editing, and trait-discovery focus areas.
- ADM Ventures: ADM Ventures invests across agtech, food tech, and animal health, providing strategic partnership pathways for portfolio companies similar to the exit optionality TechAccel offers to its portfolio.
Emerging players
- GreenLight Biosciences: GreenLight Biosciences is both a TechAccel portfolio company and a peer developing low-cost bioprocessed RNA, sharing the same core RNA-manufacturing platform that powers RNAissance Ag.
- Inari Agriculture: Inari Agriculture is an ag-biotech company using AI and biological engineering to develop high-performance seeds, overlapping with TechAccel's investments in gene editing, epigenetics, and computational biology for crop improvement.
- Pivot Bio: Pivot Bio is an emerging ag-biotech company developing microbial nitrogen-fixing products as alternatives to synthetic inputs, competing for the same biological-inputs category of ag innovation that TechAccel targets with its RNAi and epigenetic platforms.
- Benson Hill: Benson Hill is a TechAccel portfolio company (Series A and B investor) that is now a publicly traded crop improvement company using gene editing and machine learning, representing both a successful exit validation and a technology peer in plant genomics.
Direct peers
- Fall Line Capital: Fall Line Capital is a thesis-driven venture firm that invests in and actively advances early-stage agtech companies, making it one of the closest direct peers to TechAccel's venture development model in agriculture and animal health.
- Cultivian Sandbox: Cultivian Sandbox is an agtech-focused venture fund that combines venture capital with operating expertise to scale early-stage agricultural innovations, closely mirroring TechAccel's hybrid science-advancement-plus-equity thesis.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
TechAccel social profiles
Digital presenceTechAccel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
TechAccel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
TechAccel subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
TechAccel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
TechAccel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments11 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about TechAccel
What does TechAccel do?
TechAccel is a technology and venture development company that sources breakthrough innovations from universities, global strategics, and startups, advancing them through de-risking research and equity investment. The firm deploys capital and scientific expertise into early-stage agriculture, animal health, and food technology platforms, then transfers the de-risked assets to strategic acquirers or back to investor portfolios. Its portfolio includes RNAi biopesticide subsidiary RNAissance Ag and epigenetic crop joint ventures EpiBerry and EpiCanola.
Is TechAccel a public or private company?
TechAccel is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was TechAccel founded?
TechAccel was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is TechAccel based?
TechAccel is headquartered in Overland Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does TechAccel make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Equity Investments in Startups are the primary driver. The others are science Advancement Services and university Technology Consulting.
Who are TechAccel's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Corteva Catalyst, Leaps by Bayer, Syngenta Ventures and ADM Ventures. Emerging players are GreenLight Biosciences, Inari Agriculture, Pivot Bio and Benson Hill. Direct peers are Fall Line Capital and Cultivian Sandbox.
Does TechAccel have an API?
No public API is recorded for TechAccel.
What industry is TechAccel in?
TechAccel's product category is Agricultural Biotechnology Venture Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGABAL, Process Development & Tech Transfer Services (CDMO), with a secondary code of HLAGAGAE, Process Development & Tech Transfer (Upstream/Downstream/MSAT). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.