What AgriNovus Indiana does

AgriNovus Indiana is a non-profit organization dedicated to fueling growth in Indiana's agbioscience economy. The organization operates as an ecosystem catalyst rather than a product company, connecting startups, established agbioscience firms, farmers, students, and researchers through coordinated programs, content, and convenings. Indiana's agbioscience sector contributes $82.3 billion to the state's economy and represents $22.4 billion of its GDP, framing the scale of the cluster AgriNovus is tasked with developing.

The organization runs a portfolio of programs and platforms. The Velocity accelerator, formed in 2025 by consolidating the 2020 Producer-Led Innovation Challenge and the 2024 HungerTech Innovation Challenge, runs July through November each year and awards $25,000 prizes across three tracks: BioInnovation, Farmer-Focused Innovation, and Food is Health; the 2026 cohort selected 13 startups. Complementary offerings include the Field Atlas career discovery platform for students, the Agbioscience Podcast (438+ episodes featuring leaders such as Allan Gray of Purdue DIAL Ventures and Liz Rice of the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts), published industry research, and convenings including Quadrant and the One Health Summit. Strategic partners include Elanco, Corteva Agriscience, Purdue University, Keystone Cooperative, Elevance Health, Eli Lilly and Company, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Soybean Alliance, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Commercially, AgriNovus is funded through industry sponsorships and checkoff-supported partnerships rather than product revenue, and it is governed by a board of agbioscience leaders and led by President and CEO Mitch Frazier. Its functional model is closer to that of a regional economic development organization or industry association than a software vendor — value is generated through convening, content distribution, and coordination within the Indiana agbioscience cluster rather than through licensed technology or paid services.

Name

AgriNovus Indiana

Legal name

AgriNovus Indiana

Website

https://agrinovusindiana.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AgriNovus Indiana is a non-profit ecosystem catalyst that convenes Indiana's agbioscience economy through its Velocity accelerator, Field Atlas career platform, research publications, podcast, and industry events, serving startups, established companies, farmers, and students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agbioscience Industry Development and Ecosystem Services

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Agriculture, Farming & AgriTech Shows Organizers (THAHABAM), Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs (FSANAHAD), Agriculture & Food / AgTech Growth Equity (FSANACAM)

Keywords

• Agbioscience economic development
• Innovation accelerator programs
• Workforce career discovery
• Industry research and insights
• Ecosystem convening services

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Non-profit funding model: AgriNovus Indiana is a non-profit organization. Revenue appears to come from sponsorships, partnerships with industry organizations (Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Soybean Alliance), and potentially membership or program fees.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AgriNovus Indiana is a non-profit industry accelerator and ecosystem catalyst that runs the Velocity accelerator program (a multi-track program awarding $25,000 per track across bioinnovation, farmer-focused innovation, and food is health), the Field Atlas career discovery platform for students, industry-backed research and economic reports, and convener events such as Quadrant and the One Health Summit. Its mission is to fuel growth in Indiana's agbioscience economy by connecting startups, established companies, farmers, students, and state partners.

Product overview

AgriNovus Indiana is a non-profit organization and industry accelerator focused on fueling growth in Indiana's agbioscience economy. Rather than offering a unified software product, the organization operates a portfolio of programs and platforms: the Velocity accelerator (which tasks innovators with solving challenges in three focus areas: bioinnovation, farmer-focused innovation, and food as health, with $25,000 prizes per track), the Field Atlas career discovery platform for students, the Agbioscience Podcast for industry storytelling, and various research resources and directories. These programs collectively support companies, emerging startups, and next-generation talent development in the agbioscience ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Velocity: An agbioscience accelerator program focused on three critical areas: food is health, bioinnovation, and farmer-focused innovation. The program culminates with a $25,000 prize for each track.
• Field Atlas
• Agbioscience Podcast
• Quadrant

Products and services

• Velocity Accelerator Agbioscience accelerator program focused on three tracks: food is health, bioinnovation, and farmer-focused innovation. The program runs from July to November annually and culminates in Demo Day with a $25,000 prize awarded for each track. It is targeted at students, startups, and existing companies developing solutions to industry-defined challenges.
• Field Atlas Career discovery platform guiding students through their agbioscience career discovery process and connecting talent to Indiana's agbioscience ecosystem.
• Agbioscience Podcast Podcast sharing innovative stories across food, animal health, plant science, agtech, and agriculture sectors, featuring industry leaders and reaching 438+ episodes.
• Research Industry-backed insights and research on critical trends facing agbioscience, including economic overview reports and innovation priority studies conducted by Arrowpoint Labs.
• Quadrant Convener event bringing together leaders and innovators from across the agbioscience industry for ecosystem connectivity and innovation discovery.
• Startup Directory Featured startup listings showcasing AgriNovus portfolio companies, their progress, and connection opportunities within the agbioscience ecosystem.
• Investor Directory Review of investors, VCs, and accelerators with connection pathways for the agbioscience ecosystem.
• Economic Overview Comprehensive analysis of Indiana's agbioscience economy, its innovation pillars, and growth opportunities, reporting an $82.3 billion contribution to Indiana's economy.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Heartland BioWorkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2025National collaboration of industry, academia, and government partners advancing biomanufacturing. AgriNovus ecosystem connection with headquarters in Indianapolis's 16 Tech Innovation District.
• Applied Research Institute (ARI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2025Leading the Heartland BioWorks consortium. ARI is establishing a workforce training and innovation headquarters funded by U.S. EDA and Eli Lilly.
• Indiana Corn Marketing CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner presenting the Velocity/Producer-Led Innovation Challenge alongside Indiana Soybean Alliance, providing industry-defined challenges and co-funding prizes.
• Indiana Soybean AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner co-presenting innovation challenges with Indiana Corn Marketing Council, helping define farmer-focused innovation priorities.
• Purdue UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey academic partner providing research capabilities, talent pipeline, and startup support through Purdue Foundry which provides $25,000 prizes for challenge winners.
• BiomEditminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnimal health biotechnology company featured in AgriNovus ecosystem, awarded nearly $2 million from Bezos Earth Fund for AI model development for methane reduction.
• ElancocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnimal health company anchored in One Health Innovation District, launching Elanco Ventures with $25M commitment to advance animal health innovation.
• Corteva AgrisciencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor agbioscience company partner supporting Indiana's agbioscience ecosystem.
• Keystone CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the nation's largest agricultural cooperatives with ~20,000 farmer-owners, serving as a key partner in farmer-focused innovation.
• Elevance HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented the HungerTech Innovation Challenge, supporting food security innovation with tech-enabled solutions.
• CountryMarkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative ranked #12 on Indianapolis Business Journal's Largest Indiana Private Companies with $1.43B revenue, featured in AgriNovus ecosystem.
• Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState economic development organization supporting Indiana's business growth and agbioscience ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• gener8tor: Midwest-based accelerator operator running multiple industry-agnostic and vertical accelerator programs. Comparable in operating accelerator cohorts and connecting startups to capital, mentors, and corporate partners.
• SVG Ventures / THRIVE: Agtech-focused accelerator and venture firm running cohort programs, corporate innovation partnerships, and a global agrifood startup network. Comparable in operating agtech accelerator cohorts and convening corporate ag partners.
• Plug and Play AgTech: Silicon Valley-based innovation platform running vertical accelerator programs in AgTech among other industries. Comparable in operating cohort-based accelerator programs with corporate partners and connecting agtech startups to enterprise customers.
• Yield Lab: Global agtech accelerator and venture fund providing early-stage capital and mentorship to agriculture and food startups. Closely comparable mission of accelerating agtech innovation through cohort-based programs and follow-on capital.
• Techstars Farm to Fork: Techstars accelerator program focused on the food and agriculture value chain. Comparable in operating structured cohort accelerators targeting food/agtech founders with mentorship and demo-day prize structures.

Regional players

• CIFT (Center for Innovative Food Technology): Ohio-based applied research and innovation organization supporting food and agricultural technology commercialization. Comparable as a non-profit applied-research/industry-development entity serving regional agtech innovation needs.
• BioCrossroads: Indiana-based life-sciences and agbioscience economic development organization that convenes industry, academic, and government partners. Direct functional peer in catalyzing Indiana's life-sciences economy and co-host of the One Health Summit referenced by AgriNovus.
• KC Animal Health Corridor: Kansas City-based regional initiative promoting the animal-health industry cluster. Comparable as a regional economic development and ecosystem convener focused on ag/animal-health, similar to AgriNovus's agbioscience focus.

Emerging players

• AgStart: California-based agtech incubator and ecosystem builder supporting early-stage agriculture startups. Comparable in operating a regional agtech incubator with mentorship, programming, and connections to industry partners.

Others

• Indy Chamber / AgriTech Logan: Regional economic development and innovation ecosystem organizations that partner with corporations, universities, and government to grow industry clusters. Comparable in convener/economic-development role adjacent to AgriNovus's mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/agrinovusin?lang=en
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCa4e4Zv3cNiDQQSncVP85xQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/agrinovusin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agrinovus-indiana
• Instagraminstagram.com/agrinovusin/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AgriNovus Indiana