Inari introduces the world's first Seed Foundry as part of the company's mission to reintroduce genetic diversity, revolutionize the seed industry and create a winning food system. Purdue University's Research Park incubation complex, in West Lafayette, Indiana, will be the next strategic location for Inari, fueling its product development and innovation in order to restore the naturally rich building blocks of agriculture.
The Seed Foundry leverages the natural genetic diversity in plants, equipping crops to be more resilient to climate change and respectful to the environment — all while significantly lowering product development costs and accelerating the timeline for introduction of new varieties.
"We are looking forward to tapping into the community and research prowess of Purdue. Establishing a base in Indiana will not only allow us to ramp up our product development efforts, but it puts this activity in close proximity to seed companies, which we view as the best partners to reintroduce genetic diversity in agriculture," said Inari CEO Ponsi Trivisvavet.
"We are excited to see a Boston-area startup that undertook a national search to find the best place to break new ground in agribusiness decided being near Purdue was the ideal location. With joint goals to advance agriculture and provide sustainable food products for people around the world, Inari and Purdue are a natural fit," Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said. "Purdue and Inari can change crop development for the better, making it more diverse and help address the world's nutrition and health challenges for decades to come."
Inari's total 26,000 square feet at Purdue Research Park will consist of an office space, lab and greenhouse. Growing the Inari team, currently at 65 people, the team based out of Research Park will add another 30 people by 2020 and consist primarily of scientists and product development teams.