Arden Hills, Minnesota, USA
March 23, 2016

SVG Partners and Land O’Lakes, Inc. today announced an agreement to find innovative Food and Ag-Tech solutions through the THRIVE Accelerator, a highly selective investment program that supports open innovation and technology-enabled agricultural startups across the United States and around the world.
Land O’Lakes, Inc. will bring its knowledge and experience as a judge in the program and will offer mentoring and advice to selected AgTech startups, helping them rapidly scale to meet evolving needs in agriculture. ”As a leader in AgTech, we are excited to offer our expertise and leadership to the Thrive Accelerator program and support innovative start-ups in driving the future of our industry,” said Mike Macrie, Land O’Lakes Chief Information Officer.

The THRIVE program attracts startups with disruptive and innovative AgTech solutions and provides them access to show their technologies to top agricultural companies. Selected startups will receive support in scaling their products and solutions from industry leaders such as Land O’Lakes. Chris Boody, Chief Technology Officer for SVG Partners said, “SVG is thrilled to welcome Land O’Lakes, Inc. among its strategic partners in the program. Land O’Lakes, Inc. is uniquely positioned to help the THRIVE program become one of the leading Ag-Tech innovation platforms in the United States.”

For 2016, almost 200 applications were submitted to THRIVE from 35 countries
around the world. Thirty-six applicants from 16 business areas were chosen to pitch their companies to a selected list of judges and experts. Ten finalists will benefit from an eight-week acceleration program based on high-level mentorship, collaboration and direct access to the world’s top fresh agriculture companies in the United States.

About Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Land O'Lakes, Inc., one of America's premier agribusiness and food companies, is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. With 2015 annual sales of $13 billion, Land O'Lakes is one of the nation's largest cooperatives, ranking 203 on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 94 years of operation, Land O'Lakes today operates some of the most respected brands in agribusiness and food production including LAND O LAKES® Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition and WinField Solutions. The company does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. Land O'Lakes, Inc. corporate headquarters are located in Arden Hills, Minn. 

About SVG Partners and THRIVE Accelerator
THRIVE is a highly selective mentorship and investment Accelerator program for Ag-Tech and Food-Tech startups. The THRIVE Program was conceived and is led by Silicon Valley Global Partners (SVG Partners), an investment, technology and advisory firm that partners with organizations on strategy, innovation and global expansion. SVG Partners is based in Silicon Valley, CA. 

Website: http://www.landolakes.com

Published: March 25, 2016