Agricultural startups need to obtain capital or get acquired to grow and get their technologies to markets. A critical component of both obtaining capital or getting acquired is technical due diligence to help validate a technology’s value, potential and capabilities to perform as expected.
What is technical due diligence?
Technical due diligence in agriculture is an independent third-party evaluation of a new technology and the company that defines potential and maps pathways to growth. It simplifies the technical aspects to help empower investors to choose the best investments or acquisitions. Many of the risks and opportunities won’t stop a deal from being struck; it just helps all parties move forward on the same page.
It’s like a home inspection for a house you’re buying. If you love the house, unless there’s something catastrophically wrong with it, you’ll likely still buy it. You just want to know what you’re getting into, so you can plan accordingly.
Technical due diligence at AgriThority® involves the following services:
- De-risking New Technologies through scientific evaluations
- Evaluation, Testing, Analysis and Confirmation of Scientific Positioning
- Confidential Evaluation to Phased M&A Opportunities
- Competitive Product Analysis
- Comparative Positioning Analysis
- Global Regulatory Consulting & Submission
- Intellectual Property Research
- Targeted Customer and Market Research
- Uniform & standardized Field Trial Protocol Development – All Crop Types
Why is technical due diligence important for agricultural products?
With the addition of new technologies including biological products, new product development in agriculture is far from straightforward. Unknown microbes, bacteria, enzymes, etc., can be at play, and each organism can deliver varying benefits. Technical due diligence helps inspire confidence through proven proof points for both a startup and an investor.
Outside of financials, a Forbes article lists technical due diligence and intellectual property review next in importance of due diligence activities to do before a merger or acquisition. Additionally, technical due diligence helps justify and protect the logic behind investments in the future.
Why should an independent third party do technical due diligence activities?
An independent third party helps ensure the integrity of mergers and acquisitions. In agriculture, there may be a lot of competitive intelligence at stake, and an independent third party with a signed non-disclosure agreement can ensure the integrity of the potential deal. It also provides an objective outsider to help lend a new perspective to the team.
AgriThority® works with researchers and investors to optimize their development process to successfully commercialize emerging agricultural technologies around the world. Through our technical due diligence services, we deliver an independent assessment of technology, products or companies and influencing factors. Our detailed analysis can help validate assumptions about risks and opportunities as well as adoption rates for innovation in potential markets. Also, as a confidential third party, we can help quantify competition, compare or verify opportunities, and ensure anonymity in the early stages of investigation.
“There are so many new technologies out there in the market today with so much promise,” says Jim Schultz, Managing Partner, Open Prairie and AgriThority® Board of Advisors Member. “Relying on an independent, professional organization like AgriThority® to manage the development process to commercialization can help investors and startups think through all the aspects of building a profitable business.”
Forward-thinking agriculture experts with deep scientific experience are the core of AgriThority®. As an independent global science consultancy, we focus on exploring potential, expanding market access and evolving production for greater food security and sustainability. When your Research is ready for Development, turn to AgriThority® for scientific business, market and product expertise.