Cargill turns to tech with plan to nurture new food startups

Chicago

LONG synonymous with the buying and selling of US grain, agricultural giant Cargill Inc is taking a page out of Silicon Valley's playbook with a start-up accelerator that it hopes will identify important new food technologies.

Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator is a partnership involving Cargill, water and hygiene technology company Ecolab Inc and venture capital firm Techstars. The initiative will focus on food security and safety, and will begin accepting applications next month. The first class of 10 startups will go to Cargill's hometown of Minneapolis next summer and spend 13 weeks building their businesses and raising capital.