TOPEKA, Kan., Nov. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- GO
Topeka, the economic development
group for Kansas' Capital City,
today announced that 10 new startups have graduated from Plug and
Play Topeka, an animal health and ag-tech incubator. The early- and
mid-stage startups, selected after a pitch competition in late
September, have successfully completed the three-month accelerator
program.
During the event, each startup had the opportunity to facilitate
and foster mentorships and connections through a product pitch to
Plug and Play Topeka's corporate partners. The startups represent a
broad range of new innovations including a biometric platform
monitored through a wearable patch, a mobile veterinary
telemedicine platform, new micro foods to nourish an animal's gut
bacteria and drones to inspect remote infrastructure.
Here is the full list of participating companies:
- Aegis Packaging, headquartered in Singapore – More than a packaging-film
manufacturer, Aegis will become a global leader in manufacturing
regenerative high-barrier coating for flexible packaging.
- Birdstop, headquartered in San
Francisco – Using drones and ground nodes, Birdstop inspects
remote infrastructure with zero humans in the field.
- ISO Thrive, headquartered in Virginia – Through micro food that nourishes
gut bacteria, ISO Thrive curates the microbiome supportive to human
and animal health.
- Kenzen, headquartered in Kansas
City – Kenzen is a biometric platform monitored through a
smart wearable patch that keeps workforces safe from heat, fatigue
and overexertion on the job.
- Lumin, headquartered in Virginia – Lumin has changed the fundamental
element of a building's electrical distribution system, the circuit
breaker panel, by making ordinary circuits smart, responsive and
efficient.
- Maven– Maven provides off-grid communication technology that
doesn't require data service costs from telecom providers.
- Nanox, headquartered in Massachusetts – Nanox is a natural
antimicrobial product line derived from nanotechnology that
contains silver as an active ingredient.
- Pepperi, headquartered in New
York – A B2B commerce platform, Pepperi serves the sales
force and customers of manufacturers and wholesale
distributors.
- Sniffypet, headquartered in Canada – A mobile-first veterinary
telemedicine platform enabling visits via text chat and video
consultations to pet owners.
- Tarot Analytics, headquartered in France – Tarot Analytics provides
last-kilometer route optimization and a delivery management SaaS
platform for enterprise.
"The opportunity to interact with Plug and Play Topeka's
corporate partners has been extremely valuable to our company,"
says Keith Miao, chief executive
officer and co-founder of Birdstop. "We're now well on our way to
establishing collaborative partnerships with these organizations
and our hope is to expand significantly in 2022 and be able to
deploy out further in Kansas."
The Plug and Play Topeka accelerator facilitates and fosters
partnerships, mentorships and connections provided by GO Topeka,
while capitalizing on Topeka's
robust animal-health and agricultural economic ecosystem.
Topeka is centrally located within
the "KC Animal-Health Corridor," the world's largest concentration
of the animal-health related industries.
"It's been an exciting year of innovation for the capital city,"
said Katrin Bridges, senior vice
president of innovation at GO Topeka. "The successful completion of
the second accelerator program comes shortly after our announcement
of the ASTRA Innovation Center, a 60,000-square-foot project that
will be utilized for future Plug and Play startup accelerator
programs. We can't wait to watch the success that these investments
bring to the community."
More than 300 animal-health companies located between
Manhattan, Kansas and Columbia, Missouri—including four of the top
10 animal-health companies in the world—generate 67% of the total
animal-health, diagnostics and pet food sold globally, totaling
$21.5 billion in annual sales.
"The intellectual capital and technology generated from our Plug
and Play Topeka program amplifies the future of the animal-health
industry here," says Lindsay Lebahn,
program manager for Plug and Play Topeka. "It's exciting to see
these startups move forward with their products after utilizing the
region's resources."
Since the start of the program in spring of 2021, 20 startups
have graduated from the Plug and Play Topeka accelerator program.
Each year, the program will develop two accelerator groups, each of
which are made up of 10 animal health and ag-tech startups.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting
startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities and
government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present
in 35+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate
innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage
of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also
organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house
venture capital to drive innovation across multiple industries
where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including
Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal and
Rappi. For more information visit
https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/
About GO Topeka
GO Topeka creates opportunities
for economic growth that provide a thriving business climate and
fulfilling lifestyle for Topeka
and Shawnee County. The
Greater Topeka area in
Shawnee County represents a
community of 178,915 people, located in the Greater Kansas City region. As the state
capital of Kansas, Topeka is home to a dynamic employer base with
headquartered companies, including Hill's Pet Nutrition, Advisors
Excel, Security Benefit, Capitol Federal and Evergy. Topeka is located less than 40 minutes from
suburban Kansas City's shops and
restaurant districts, less than one hour to downtown Kansas City, including the KC Crossroads
District, the River Market and the Country Club Plaza, and an hour
from Kansas City International
Airport. Topeka is proud to be a
part of the #KCHeartland. For more information, visit
http://www.gotopeka.com
Media Contact
Sam Brancato, Violet PR,
8627543332, sam@violetpr.com
SOURCE Go Topeka