Late last November, local leaders convened in the Lewis Park neighborhood of North St. Louis for a groundbreaking ceremony that represented a significant milestone for the region’s innovation economy. That day, shovels marked the spot for the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center, a forthcoming 150,000-square-foot space poised to become a hub of innovation, bringing together multiple sectors in which St. Louis is a leader.
The idea for an entity of such scale and scope has been percolating long before the center won a $25 million federal grant in 2022. If you want to trace the idea for such a grand vision back to its roots, you have to begin with the genesis of the region’s innovation economy, which began to take shape roughly 25 years ago, thanks to the vision of local leaders who believed St. Louis could become a world-class center dedicated to solving some of the world’s most pressing matters. They recognized the region’s strengths and understood that by working together across sectors, they could create a robust ecosystem to attract talent, jobs, and investment.
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These efforts have come to fruition in the form of several key sectors: biosciences, agtech/plant science, geospatial, and advanced manufacturing. Behind their individual successes there is a spirit of collaboration: Each sector does not exist on its own but as an integrative, essential piece of St. Louis’ broader innovation network.
“Each innovation center, in and of itself, is incredibly impactful,” says Kory Mathews, CEO/executive director of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center, “but what excites me the most is the collaboration or partnerships among the innovation centers, creating an entire ecosystem that will continue to transform our region.”
Central West End: Cortex + BioSTL
Key Industries: Biosciences, agtech, and plant sciences
Background: At the turn of the 21st century, former WashU chancellor William H. Danforth planted the seeds for innovation and inclusive growth in the fertile soil of the region’s bioscience, medical, and agtech sectors. Three years after founding the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in 1998 (see below), Danforth formed the Coalition for Plant & Life Sciences, which would be reborn as BioSTL a decade later. Danforth recognized the need for a holistic approach to support the region’s startups and entrepreneurs. So in 2002, he partnered with leaders from area universities, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and BJC HealthCare to create the Cortex Innovation Community. Situated next to WashU’s medical campus in the CWE, the district is home to startups, labs, innovation-focused organizations, and gathering spaces. With support from investment arm BioGenerator and global recruitment arm GlobalSTL, BioSTL has become one of Cortex’s anchor institutions.
“We see ourselves primarily as the convener. We bring stakeholders together to address critical needs and to have more impact together than they could have independently,” says BioSTL president/CEO Donn Rubin. “From BioSTL’s comprehensive work orchestrated over two decades, we’re seeing St. Louis’ reputation blossom, with investment flowing in from the East and West Coasts and from overseas, validating St. Louis’ momentum from ‘fly-over’ to ‘fly-to’ country.”
Recent Developments: The innovation hub is expanding its reach, both here and beyond. The Cultivar STL initiative is strengthening agtech ties between St. Louis and Latin America, with a focus on food security, while GlobalSTL is working to attract Scottish businesses to St. Louis. BioSTL is also focused on collaborative efforts closer to home: It’s embarking on an ecosystem analysis to help create a collective strategy for the region’s bioscience organizations. And it’s putting special emphasis on regenerative agriculture (the new term for “sustainable agriculture”), which Rubin calls “one of the most critical topics of our time.” In February, BioSTL hosted an inaugural regenerative agriculture summit, with coalition members working toward net-zero carbon and sustainability goals. And this March, BioSTL’s Center for Rural Health Innovation launched a program to help address asthma in rural communities.
Success Stories: Confluence Life Sciences, founded by Pfizer-executives-turned-entrepreneurs in 2010, is at the forefront of innovation and research in the discovery and development of treatments for patients with cancer and severe autoimmune diseases. BioGenerator’s first-ever lab tenant (and the first company that BioGenerator invested in), Confluence now takes up the entire fourth floor of BioSTL’s headquarters in Cortex and was acquired by Philadelphia-based Aclaris Therapeutics in 2017, though it chose to stay in St. Louis because of its robust life-sciences community. BioGenerator also played a significant role in the development of CoverCress, an agtech firm founded in 2013 that was able to turn its research on crops into a commercially viable product. Bayer acquired the company in 2022.
Creve Coeur: Danforth Plant Science Center + 39 North
Key Industries: Plant science, agtech
Background: In 1998, William H. Danforth established the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to create an innovation hub centered on St. Louis’ strengths in agriculture and plant sciences. The Danforth Center quickly became a gathering place for the field’s top minds and has become the world’s largest independent nonprofit plant research institute, as well as a boon for the region’s economy. In many ways, the center laid the groundwork for St. Louis’ innovation ecosystem, serving as a collaborator and catalyst across sectors.
“What is unique about the Danforth Center is our overall mission to improve the human condition through plant science and in doing so, feed the hungry, improve the environment, and build St. Louis,” says Stephanie Regagnon, executive director of innovation partnerships. “Through research and innovation coming out of the Danforth Center, we are bringing new tools and technologies into the marketplace and into the hands of farmers and companies, while at the same time creating jobs and building economic prosperity in St. Louis.”
Anchored by the Danforth Plant Science Center, the 600-acre 39 North agtech innovation district in Creve Coeur consists of established companies, startups, labs, meeting spaces, and incubators such as BRDG (Bio Research and Development Growth) Park, the Helix Center biotech incubator, Bayer Crop Science, and Yield Lab venture capital firm. A decade in the making, 39 North saw an important development last year in terms of its structure: A nonprofit consisting of seven area institutions (including the Danforth Center, Greater St. Louis Inc., the City of Creve Coeur, and Bayer Crop Science) was formed to run the district, developing its own identity and resources to help nascent agtech and plant science companies flourish.
Recent Developments: Besides partnering with regional institutions on such initiatives as Cultivar STL and the Taylor Geospatial Institute, the Danforth Center is also helping its scientists launch their own startups through the Danforth Technology Company. Founded in 2022, it’s a link among scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors that helps these budding companies translate successes in the lab into successes in the marketplace.
Success Stories: Using the Danforth Center’s lab space, Edison Agrosciences is looking to sunflowers as a source of domestic rubber. The startup’s research piqued the interest of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator, which accepted it into its 11th cohort. And Cambridge, Massachusetts–based Invaio Sciences recently acquired Peptyde Bio, the first company spun out of Danforth’s Technology Company.
Downtown & Midtown: T-REX + Taylor Geospatial Institute
Key Industries: Geospatial, technology
Background: The news was game-changing: When St. Louis was tapped to become home to the $2 billion headquarters for NGA West in 2016, it spurred local leaders to think about how St. Louis could position itself as a global hub of geospatial innovation. To that end, in 2022, Enterprise Mobility’s Andrew Taylor helped establish the Taylor Geospatial Institute, an interdisciplinary community of researchers and scientists. Although the geospatial sector is often equated with defense, this institute is a multidisciplinary entity (much like the Danforth Center is for plant science) that addresses everything from geospatial computation and health to food security and agtech. “Geospatial science and technology is the driver of the next industrial revolution,” says Vasit Sagan, deputy director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute. “It’s embedded in every aspect of our lives… The vision of Taylor is to be a national leader and develop St. Louis as the center for geospatial excellence.”
Like the institute, T-REX began with the belief that St. Louis could become a leading hub for technology. Founded in 2011, the downtown St. Louis innovation center and startup-support organization has provided the space and tools to help entrepreneurs succeed. So naturally, it was well-positioned to help grow the region’s geospatial scene, launching the nation’s first Geospatial Innovation Center in 2020 and partnering with the NGA and Taylor Geospatial Institute.
Recent Developments: This past November, SLU announced it would hire 20 geospatial faculty members, an effort in partnership with the Taylor Geospatial Institute, to bring the field’s top talent to St. Louis. T-Rex’s geospatial capacity continues to ramp up as well. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded it $500,000 to establish the Extended Reality Lab, which supports those working in the augmented-, virtual-, and mixed-reality fields. That same year, NGA opened Moonshot Labs at T-Rex, an unclassified center that allows NGA employees to collaborate with innovators on geospatial research and development. And last year, NGA entered into a formal partnership agreement with T-Rex that advances the agency’s technology transfer, innovation, and workforce development needs by connecting them with entrepreneurs, researchers, and other experts.
Success Stories: This past fall, a team of researchers at WashU’s McKelvey School of Engineering developed a new search tool for the field of visual active search that can be used in everything from detecting wildlife poaching to search-and-rescue missions. And at SLU, a recent $1 million grant from NGA is funding work to improve the accuracy of satellite information gathering. Meanwhile, T-Rex has helped launch a range of successful startups, including biotech firm Analome, roadside service innovator Eemerg, and corporate-gifting company Bold Xchange.
Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center
Background: Construction is underway on the 150,000-square-foot facility in North St. Louis, slated for completion in 2025. The groundbreaking ceremony last November marked an important milestone for a project years in the making. First envisioned by the Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (RAMP), an entity founded by the St. Louis Economic Development Corporation in 2015, the center in large part is taking shape thanks to funding from a competitive $25 million federal Build Back Better grant. The center will be a hub of workforce development (in conjunction with area colleges, universities, and technical schools), cutting-edge research and development for advanced manufacturing, and a startup incubator where companies can use space and equipment to cultivate their ideas before investing in their own buildings and equipment.
Building Partnerships: The center is part of a much larger ecosystem: AMICSTL will make up one side of what’s been dubbed the St. Louis Tech Triangle, composed of advanced manufacturing, plant and biosciences, and geospatial. The facility will also be part of an actual geographic triangle that includes Cortex, 39 North, and the forthcoming NGA West.
“It’s incredibly exciting to see what’s happening in our region in regard to agtech, biosciences, and geospatial. We see ourselves as a partner in that,” says Kory Mathews, CEO/executive director of AMICSTL. “Advanced manufacturing is really foundational and cuts across all areas, whether that’s active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing in biosciences or manufacturing of satellites, drones, and sensors in geospatial. We see AMIC as less of a vertical-innovation entity and really a foundational partner in supporting all those industries.”
“What gets me so excited and what is going to be so fundamentally impactful regionally is really about those partnerships,” Mathews adds. “Educational institutes, leaders like the Danforth Plant Science Center, and civic and public leaders are all coming together to create these ecosystems. A lot of really good things are happening, and it’s only going to get better.”
Trends to Watch
Sam Fiorello, Cortex Innovation Community: “Continued advances in genomics will further our ability to create and deploy precision, or personalized, medicine. AI and machine learning will help launch diagnosis and treatment products and services like never before. We are in the midst of an evolution in immunotherapies to treat afflictions like cancer more effectively and with lower side effects. The recent opening of Washington University’s Neurosciences Research Building elevates what were already best-in-class capabilities in our region to new heights. I see major breakthroughs in the understanding and treatments of debilitating neuro afflictions like Alzheimer’s disease accelerating like never before.”
Patricia Hagen, T-REX: “Artificial intelligence is gaining a more significant role in data analysis and data management, while extended reality is stretching the boundaries of engagement for training and experiences. This is why we have built an extended reality lab here at T-REX—to involve entrepreneurs and researchers in testing their XR technologies and ideas.”
Kory Mathews, AMICSTL: “Continued reshoring of manufacturing and supply-chain disruptions top the list, but an exciting trend from a technology perspective is ‘digital-forward,’ including overall automation and integration with AI, both on the design and manufacturing sides, as well as use of analytics to optimize equipment and line efficiency. Another advanced manufacturing technology trend is in the area of enhanced training, including AR/VR, to further empower our workforce.”
Arching Upward
Arch Grants operates on a practical but powerful notion: Funding is often the key to unlocking the next great idea in the region’s innovation ecosystem.
Founded as a first-of-its-kind nonprofit startup competition in 2012, the organization pioneered the model of raising philanthropic donations for non-dilutive grants (for up to $100,000), which are then distributed through its annual competition for helping early-stage startups grow and scale. In addition to the funding, those selected as Arch Grants recipients are welcomed into a cohort with other grant winners and have access to a variety of business-development and networking resources.
The organization has helped startups in a wide range of industries: agtech, life sciences, data analytics, education, and corporate giving… To date, it’s distributed $16.9 million in grants to 252 companies, 70 percent of which are still operating, and 85 percent of those companies are still in St. Louis. It’s resulted in the creation of roughly 3,500 jobs and more than $160 million in wages here, as well as more than $740 million in revenue.
Among its recent success stories: Health-tech startup Geneoscopy, which just inked a deal with LabCorp and is preparing to go to market with its colon-cancer-screening test. Another Arch Grants recipient, Top Tutors for Us, has made great strides in the education space with its platform that helps students from underserved populations develop academic skills and increase standardized test scores. The startup has recently partnered with NISA Investment Advisors as part of an ongoing effort to grow innovations in education technology.
“Our role is to be a conduit for companies in St. Louis,” says Arch Grants CEO Gabe Angieri. “We raise funds from the St. Louis community, engage the St. Louis community in the selection and award process, and ask the St. Louis community to support these companies. It really is a holistic approach to economic development.”
Accelerators
Helping startups take their businesses to the next level
- Anchor Accelerator: The University of Missouri–St. Louis’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Accelerator began in 2020 as a way to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs. Grant recipients receive $50,000 non-dilutive funds, as well as business-development resources.
- BioGenerator: In addition to non-dilutive proof-of-concept grants, BioSTL’s investment arm provides coaching and preparation for companies that are seeking federal grants for small businesses.
- Capital Innovators: Dedicated to bolstering St. Louis’ existing tech talent pool.
- Prosper: The accelerator aims to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship by nurturing women-led startups.
- SixThirty Ventures: Launched by Square co-founder Jim McKelvey, SixThirty supports emerging fintech companies.
- Stadia Ventures: Centers on emerging sports-related companies.
- Yield Lab: Located at 39 North, it’s the region’s premier agtech accelerator.
Higher Education
Besides providing expertise, the region’s colleges and universities are pipelines of talent that fuel St. Louis’ innovation ecosystem.
- Harris-Stowe State University: Harris-Stowe is heavily involved in the growth of the region’s geospatial sector, thanks to its Office of STEM Initiatives, which has established partnerships with such organizations as the Taylor Geospatial Institute, Maxar Technologies, and the NGA.
- Saint Louis University: Home to the Taylor Geospatial Institute, SLU offers related graduate and undergraduate programs, known as Geospatial@SLU, to help educate the next generation while providing facilities and research opportunities for some of the field’s top minds.
- St. Louis Community College: SLCC recently broke ground on its own advanced-manufacturing center at its Florissant Valley Campus, a facility aligned with AMICSTL to help the region become a hub of the sector through training and workforce development.
- University of Missouri–St. Louis: As a founding member of the Taylor Geospatial Institute, the University of Missouri–St. Louis is focused on talent development and research through its geospatial collaborative.
- Washington University: A major player in life sciences research and innovation thanks to its renowned medical school, Washington University is home to the Center for Drug Discovery, which helps researchers translate their work into pharmaceuticals that can attract investors and ultimately get to market.
Mark Your Calendar
Where to learn and network across the innovation scene
- 1 Million Cups: Every week, the Center for Emerging Technologies (CEC), an affiliate of the Cortex Innovation Community, hosts the St. Louis chapter of this national networking organization, where entrepreneurs interact and present their latest developments over coffee.
- AgriTech Thursdays: This monthly after-work event at T-REX features a brief presentation from a speaker and subsequent networking opportunities for those interested in agtech.
- Geosaurus Unleashed: On every second Wednesday of the month, T-REX hosts this free speakers’ series for those who want to keep up on the latest happenings in the geospatial intelligence sector.
- StartLouis: On the second Tuesday of every month, T-REX hosts this networking event, where entrepreneurs convene over beverages to discuss a particular topic.
- Weekly Scientific Seminar Series: Every week, the Danforth Center hosts this free speakers’ series, where attendees can hear from plant-science and agtech experts.
