NEWS & EVENTS
5.19.2025
Impetus Agriculture Welcomes Dr. Daqi Tu as Vice-President Research and Development
St. Louis, May 19, 2025 — Impetus Agriculture, advancing a novel platform for resistant insect control for row and specialty crops, is pleased to announce that Dr. Daqi Tu has joined the company as Vice-President of Research and Development effective immediately. Dr. Tu commented on joining Impetus, “After 14 years working on Bt toxin structure-function and protein engineering at Monsanto/Bayer and Corteva, I’m more excited than ever about the future of insect control. I’m a passionate believer in the power of Bt toxin engineering to overcome resistance and drive lasting impact. Joining Impetus Ag is a thrilling opportunity to help bring this vision to life. By repurposing existing insecticidal proteins to unlock new sites of action, Impetus is redefining what’s possible and positioning Bt technology for long-term success in the field.”
“Daqi brings a strong track record of leading teams to deliver critical capabilities for insect control technologies,” said Dr. Alex Hromockyj, CTO of Impetus Ag. “His leadership arrives at a pivotal time as we shift from proof-of-concept to product development, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have someone of Daqi’s caliber guiding our R&D efforts during this next phase of growth.”
Prior to Impetus Agriculture, Tu served as the leader of the protein engineering and trait discovery design and optimization team at Corteva Agriscience and preceding that in similar roles at Monsanto and Bayer Crop Sciences.
Bayer Crop Protection Distinguished Science Fellow Dr. Sergej Ivashuta commented, “Daqi is a highly experienced protein biologist with extensive knowledge in structural biology and is among the most talented and motivated scientists I have worked with directly in the agricultural industry. I have seen many examples of his capability to tackle the most challenging problems in protein expression and protein engineering. He is a world-class expert in the engineering of insecticidal proteins, possessing a wealth of practical knowledge and many novel ideas.” Dr. James Baum, retired Bayer/Monsanto senior fellow and Impetus Agriculture Scientific Advisory Board Member, further noted “Daqi is a thoughtful and talented scientist who brings a valuable set of skills and expertise to the Impetus Ag team.”
Tu completed his Ph.D. at Yale University in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, served as a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University, and as a research fellow at Harvard Medical School.
About Impetus Agriculture
Impetus is developing a pipeline of proteins that enhance the performance of current biological spray and transgenic crop insect control products; killing more insects, more quickly and killing insects resistant to current methods of control. Impetus’ laboratories are located in the 39 North AgTech Innovation District in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit impetusag.com to learn more.
39 North AgTech Innovation District, St. Louis, Missouri is a vibrant innovation district cultivating the infrastructure, talent, and access to capital to facilitate agrifood tech innovation and to advance ideas from lab to market. Visit 39northstl.org to learn more.
Contact: news@impetusag.com
3.19.2024
Winners Announced: UPL Corp Leads US$1.75M Investment In Biological Ag-Tech Innovators
LONDON, March 19, 2024 – UPL Corporation Ltd. (UPL Corp), a global provider of holistic and sustainable agricultural solutions, and Radicle Growth, a company-building platform investing in early-stage agriculture and food technologies, are delighted to announce SOLASTA Bio as the winner of ‘the Radicle Natural Plant Protection (NPP) Challenge by UPL’, securing a $1M investment, with the runner-up Impetus Ag, receiving a $750,000 investment. The Challenge sought to identify entrepreneurs advancing natural and biological solutions and saw applications from 237 start-ups.
SOLASTA Bio, an ag-biotech company specializing in the next-generation of green insecticides, was selected as the winner for developing nature-inspired, selectively targeted and sustainable peptide insect control products. Shireen Davies, CEO of SOLASTA Bio, said: “We are delighted to have won The Radicle NPP Challenge by UPL. We look forward to accelerating our sustainable insect control solutions towards the global market in a new phase for the company and enhancing this with industry support and global networks provided by UPL Corp and Radicle Growth.”
Impetus Ag, an ag-tech company developing biological insect control solutions with the effectiveness of legacy chemical methods, was selected as the runner-up for creating novel proteins that bind naturally occurring toxins to targeted pests. Dr. Martha Schlicher, CEO of Impetus Ag said: “Being a winner of The Radicle NPP Challenge by UPL is a game changer for Impetus Ag! Investment in parallel with product development resources, expertise, and access to global networks will ensure our products meet industry gold standards and will go a long way in authenticating our pest solutions with grower supply chains critical for product adoption.”
Mike Frank, CEO of UPL Corp., said: “We’re committed to expanding access to sustainable solutions as a route to shaping healthy, productive, and climate-positive food systems. Through this investment and our ongoing support, we’re excited to work with SOLASTA Bio and Impetus Ag to develop their biological innovations and deliver real-world impacts for farmers, food chains, and the planet. Thank you to our winners, finalists, and all of the incredible start-ups that entered this Radicle Challenge.”
Kirk Haney, Managing Partner of Radicle Growth, said: “Congratulations to our winners! We have been so inspired by the biological solutions on display at the Pitch Day Event, and we are deeply proud that the Radicle Challenge continues to serve as a leading platform for driving global deal flow and funding the most impressive technologies across the food value chain.”
The winners were announced at a Pitch Day Event on 18th March 2024. In addition to the funding, SOLASTA Bio and Impetus Ag will gain access to UPL Corp and Radicle Growth’s expertise and networks to help accelerate their development and growth.
Learn more about ‘The Radicle NPP Challenge by UPL’ here.
For more information, please contact:
UPL
Reina Behmber
Head of Global Marketing Communications
reina.behmber@upl-ltd.com
Radicle Growth
Damaris Mozo
SVP, Head of Operations and Legal
dmozo@radicle.vc
About UPL Corp
UPL Corporation Ltd. (UPL Corp) is a leading global crop protection and biological solutions company defining the future through sustainable agriculture and a grower-first mindset. With a robust portfolio of holistic solutions, UPL Corp aims to create shared growth and prosperity for farming communities, agriculture, and our planet. As the largest of UPL Group’s pureplay platforms, UPL Corp contributes to more than $5bn in annual revenue and is a leader in fostering collaboration through OpenAg® to develop advanced technologies for crop health and productivity.
About UPL Group
UPL Ltd. (NSE: UPL, BSE: 512070, LSE GDR: UPLL) is a global provider of sustainable agricultural products and solutions that cover the entire agrifood value chain. With annual revenue exceeding $6bn, the company is one of the largest agriculture companies worldwide, serving growers in more than 130 countries. UPL Group consists of four pure-play platforms that include UPL Corporation Ltd. (UPL Corp); UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions (SAS); Advanta Enterprises Ltd.; and UPL Specialty Chemicals Ltd. (USCL). Together, these platforms are dedicated to Reimagining Sustainability and driving progress in our food system through our innovative OpenAg® approach. To learn more about UPL, please visit upl-ltd.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook.
About Radicle Growth
Radicle Growth selects innovative, early-stage companies for investment, ensuring that disruptive AgTech & Food Tech companies reach their full potential. In addition to providing seed-stage capital, Radicle Growth provides a fertile environment for visionaries in the ag and food space to flourish. Their proprietary platform is one of a kind in the ag and food industry, filling a huge void in the market by identifying the most innovative technologies and accelerating them with a range of value-creation initiatives. To connect and learn more about Radicle Growth follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. To stay informed on Radicle Challenges, visit: https://radicle.vc/the-radicle-challenge/.