Peter Thiel Is Bullish on the Midwest. So Are We

Peter Thiel is one of the savviest investors of our time. His $2.5 billion net worth is proof of that. So when Thiel says the next big innovations will be born in the American Midwest, it’s probably a safe bet that he’s onto something — especially since he is planning to put his money where his mouth is.  

So why exactly is Thiel homing in on the Midwest as the new epicenter for his VC funding?  It’s simple: Because costs are low and innovation is high.

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Are Retiring Boomers to Blame for Slow Economic Growth?

The U.S. economy grew at roughly 2.5% last year, below the 3% benchmark that policymakers have targeted going forward, indicating a general economic slowdown that might be difficult to reverse. Are retiring Baby Boomers to blame?

That’s the premise of a recent article in The Wall Street Journal titled, “As Boomers Go Gray, Even 2% Growth Will Be Hard to Sustain.” The premise of the article is that the economy is reverting to the “new normal” of slower growth, and the millions of Baby Boomer who are leaving the workforce for retirement are partly to blame.

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Company Webinars

Agribody: Expanding Global Food Supply by Significantly Increasing Crop Yields, Stress Tolerance and Shelf Life Using Patented Gene Technology. Watch Replay

Agrifood Conversations Live Panel: Future of Genetics & Agriculture. Watch Replay

Benson Hill: Bringing the Power of CRISPR and Advanced Gene Editing to Mainstream Agriculture. Watch Replay

Nix Biosensors: Preventing Dehydration With Real-Time Monitoring. Watch Replay

Plastomics: Using Chloroplast Genetic Engineering to Develop the Next Generation of High Performing Crops. Watch Replay

Rebound: Transforming Modern Refrigeration With Control, Efficiency and Cost Savings. Watch Replay

Portfolio Company News

Agrible: Agrible Joins Cool Farm Alliance to Bring Agricultural Sustainability Worldwide. Read More

Benson Hill: Major Trends in AgTech 2018. Read More

Benson Hill: Brazilian Research Leader Embrapa Taps Benson Hill Biosystems Genome Editing Capabilities to Modernize Crop Improvement. Read More

Benson Hill: Benson Hill Biosystems granted patent for novel genome editing system. Read More

Cofactor Genomics: The Importance of Immuno-Oncology. Read More

Cofactor Genomics: Cofactor Genomics, NCI Partner to Validate RNA-Based Immune Profiling Assay. Read More

Cofactor Genomics: Gene Expression in Immune-Oncology. Read More

Flywheel: Stanford CNI and VISTA Lab are revolutionizing scientific data management using Flywheel on Google Cloud Platform to accelerate new discoveries and address the world’s critical healthcare challenges. Read More

HerdDogg: World Agri-Tech Pitch Day & The Radicle Challenge: The Finalists. Read More

Holganix: Selling to the Whole Foods Customer. Read More

Holganix: Why Soil Matters to Farmers. Read More

Nix: Tech to Watch from SXSW. Read More

Nix: SXSW Announces 2018 Winners for 10th Annual Accelerator Pitch Event. Read More

Rebound Technologies: National Science Foundation Continues Rebound Technologies Support Via Phase IIB SBIR Grant. Read More

Upcoming Events

Agrifood Conversations: April 2018 Theme: Vertical Farming.
Webinar Series • Weekly starting April 5 • 3pm CT
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AeroFarms: Scaling Indoor Farming With New Smart Technologies. Register
Webinar • April 12 • 3pm CT

Sollum: Artificial Light for Agriculture Applications That Outperforms the Sun. Register
Webinar • April 19 • 3pm CT

Motorleaf: Full Automation From Planning To Control For Indoor Farms Is Here. Register
Webinar • April 26 • 3pm CT