AgTech Venture Capital News
Prairie Crest Capital Launched for Ag Tech Sector
DES MOINES, IA: Prairie Crest Capital, a venture capital firm has been launched in Des Moines by principals Barry Adams and Mark White, which focused on early to mid-stage investments in breakthrough agriculture and technology firms.
The partners formed Prairie Crest Capital to address the underserved investment opportunities in the agriculture and technology sectors, particularly in the Midwest. While agriculture and downstream products (such as food) account for nearly 8 percent of the United States GDP, over the past three years it only amounts to less than 3 percent of venture capital investments on average.
Over the next several years, Prairie Crest anticipates investment activity in the agriculture technology space to grow from $1.2 billion to approximately $7 billion.
Mark White said, “Although the Midwest has approximately 20 percent of the population, research and development spending, top research universities, and entrepreneurial talent, our region receives less than 5 percent of venture capital investment.”
“Also, the rise of new and adaptive agriculture technologies such as precision agriculture and predictive software indicate a growing and underfunded pipeline of solutions in the AgTech. It makes for a compelling, dynamic sector, rife with transformational possibilities, with the demand for food and sustainable energy growing and access to arable land and water availability diminishing,”
Prairie Crest Capital will be active investors in these promising firms and has developed a mentoring and engagement platform to optimize their success. The partners have spent over a year developing the firm, refining their investment thesis, identifying promising new ventures, and formalizing their network of investment partners and technology affiliates.
Barry Adams said, “For Midwest entrepreneurs, location may be an obstacle when seeking not only investment opportunities, but access to feedback networks, later stage capital, technology infrastructure and global marketing contacts. Our aim is to turn those disadvantages into an advantage by helping them connect the dots and leverage our Midwest location to identify and nurture those breakthrough companies.”
