Food conglomerate Tyson Foods, which has a $150 million startup venture fund in Chicago, has announced partnerships with local tech incubator 1871 and Plug and Play, an innovation platform and accelerator in Silicon Valley, as it aims to connect and collaborate with startup and tech companies.
Tyson, whose corporate headquarters are in Springdale, Ark., said in a news release that the new partnerships with 1871 and Plug and Play will allow it to ramp up its innovation initiatives and work with new technologies to become more sustainable in the future.
“Our collaboration with Plug and Play and 1871 are examples of how we are adopting new growth models to innovate faster than consumers and markets are changing,” said Sally Grimes, group president of prepared foods at Tyson, in a statement. “By partnering with these organizations and combining Tyson Foods’ resources, capabilities and team members with the energy and innovation coming out of Silicon Valley and Chicago, we can have a positive impact on the industry and the food system.”
1871, which is led by the newly hired CEO Betsy Ziegler, is home to nearly 500 early-stage startups.
“Our corporate partners play a major role in supporting 1871’s mission to serve Chicago’s entrepreneurs and elevate its economy," said outgoing 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman in a statement. "This partnership speaks highly to [Tyson’s] ongoing commitment to drive real growth and encourage new thinking.”
Plug and Play, founded in 2006, has more than 6,000 startups and 200 corporate partners in their network. Tech companies in their portfolio that have made successful exits include Dropbox and PayPal.
The Tyson announcement comes at a time when momentum around food innovation in Chicago is growing. Cleveland Avenue, a venture firm founded by former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson, launched in 2017. And Tovala, a Chicago-based startup that makes a countertop smart oven, just received an undisclosed amount of funding from Tyson Ventures earlier this month.
