Today’s episode is all about corporate investments and acquisitions in agtech. Two guests, Derek Norman (VP at Leaps by Bayer) and Jim Chambers (President and General Manager of the Worldwide Agriculture Business at Trimble) cover different ways startups can engage with corporates, from early stage direct strategic investments, to channel partnerships, to acquisitions.

We also discuss:

• what Bayer and Trimble are looking for and tips for startup to get investment- and acquisition-ready
• how the M&A environment is changing with consolidation and coronavirus
• why we haven’t we seen more successful agtech exits
• what spaces are hot (and not), including how Bayer and Trimble are looking at autonomy, e-commerce, biologicals, indoor agriculture, and more

This episode was recorded LIVE at an event we co-hosted with Tim Hammerich, host of the Future of Agriculture podcast. If you're not yet a FoA listener, check out episode 201 featuring Tenacious Ventures, Co-Founder, Matthew Pryor.

What do you think of this format? Do you want more live events, or partnerships with more podcasts? Please reach out!

Want to jump to specific parts of the event?

• Tim's interview with Derek: 2:00 to 26:18
• Sarah's interview with Jim: 26:18 to 49:48
• QnA with both Jim and Derek: 49:48 to end

Resources and Links

• Leaps by Bayer
• Trimble Select
• Leaps by Bayer portfolio companies mentioned: Pairwise Joyn Bio and Cover Cress
• Future of Agriculture Podcast
• Sarah’s tips for agtech startups