Beck’s, the largest family-owned seed company and third largest seed brand, today announced the launch of SeedIQ™, the industry’s first product management platform designed to help farmers unlock the full potential of every hybrid and variety through data-driven, practical management recommendations.
Powered by artificial intelligence, SeedIQ goes beyond traditional field management tools by integrating Beck’s proprietary data and insights from Root Reveal™, Silk Reveal™, Kernel Reveal™, Product Characterization Research (PCR), Local Evaluation and Agronomic Research Network (LEARN) plots, performance data, Practical Farm Research (PFR)®, and knowledge from Beck’s agronomy and product teams. The platform delivers clear, actionable product recommendations tailored to each farmer’s unique fields and management style.
“SeedIQ brings together decades of research and real-world performance data into one easy-to-use platform,” said Scott Beck, president of Beck’s. “Our goal is to give every product the opportunity to perform at its best by helping farmers make confident, informed decisions.”
SeedIQ features include:
Built on Beck’s Data: Combines insights from Root Reveal, Silk Reveal, PCR, PFR, Choice trial data, LEARN plots, and performance data.
Product Decisions: AI-powered recommendations tailored to each farmer’s management practices and field conditions.
Leave With a Game Plan: Printable product insight sheets outlining why a product is a strong fit, key watchouts, and management considerations. Insights can be downloaded, shared, or printed.
Easy to Use: Farmers answer a few simple questions and receive recommendations within minutes on mobile or web.
FARMserver® Integration: Launching in summer 2026, SeedIQ will integrate with Beck’s precision farming technology, FARMserver®, for field-by-field recommendations.
“As a dealer for 23 years, SeedIQ is an asset unlike anything I’ve used before,” said Tom Uthell, Beck’s dealer in Effingham, Illinois. “It puts the full depth of knowledge behind every hybrid and variety at my fingertips in seconds—delivering in-depth data that once took hours to compile. The data and recommendations can be used right on the farm to better understand hybrids inside and out, make confident placement decisions, and build action plans that maximize yields and ROI in today’s tight margins.”
Farmers can access SeedIQ by visiting www.BecksHybrids.com. Users select a crop (corn or soybeans) and answer a few questions about their management practices, relative maturity, and location. Farmers are encouraged to contact their local Beck’s representative or dealer to review results, finalize product plans, and receive ongoing support throughout the season.
TechPoint today released its 2025 Venture Report, an annual analysis of venture capital investment trends shaping Indiana’s innovation economy. The report provides a comprehensive look at the national and state levels, highlighting a year defined by recalibration and renewed focus on long-term value creation.
New this year, the report also features Indiana’s top venture capital financings and M&A / IPO transactions of 2025, which together represent the finalists for the Deal of the Year Mira Award. Winners will be announced live at the 27th annual Mira Awards on April 24.
After several years of rapid expansion followed by sharp correction, 2025 marked a year of calibration for venture capital,” said Chelsea Linder, vice president of innovation & entrepreneurship at TechPoint. “Investors exited the year with greater clarity around pricing, risk tolerance, and where durable value is being created.”
Key findings from the report are:
Venture Capital Recalibration
Nationally, venture capital activity in 2025 reflected a more disciplined equilibrium following the market reset that began in late 2022. While total capital deployed remained below peak-cycle highs, investors emphasized selectivity, conviction, and capital efficiency.
Technology also continued to anchor venture investment across stages. Artificial intelligence remained dominant, though investor scrutiny increasingly differentiated between AI-native platforms and companies using AI as an enabling layer.
Life sciences also demonstrated strength nationally, supported by longer investment horizons and reduced sensitivity to short-term public market volatility. Exit activity overall remained constrained, with mergers and acquisitions emerging as the most viable and strategic liquidity pathway.
Indiana’s Tech Venture Ecosystem Shows Resilience
The recalibration was apparent in Indiana. Indiana-based tech companies raised approximately $290 million across 98 venture deals in 2025. Technology-focused investments accounted for 77% of all venture capital activity.
While total deal count and capital deployment declined compared to prior years, the data signals a market that is stabilizing rather than contracting. Deal activity increasingly prioritized product resilience, customer traction, and capital stewardship over growth-at-all-costs strategies.
Indiana’s ecosystem also benefited from improved syndication quality in 2025, with increased participation from experienced out-of-state investors alongside Indiana-based capital. This external engagement reflects growing confidence in select Indiana technology companies and stronger alignment between founders and investors on valuation, efficiency, and time horizons.
“2025 was a year of resetting momentum in Indiana,” Linder added. “Indiana’s tech venture ecosystem demonstrated resilience through disciplined capital deployment and growing alignment with national investor expectations. In 2026, the signals currently point to a more selective, and ultimately more sustainable, venture environment.”
2025 Deal Highlights and Deal of the Year Finalists
The finalists for the 2025 Deal of the Year Mira Award represent the most notable venture financings and exit events involving Indiana companies. These transactions stand out for their scale, strategic significance, execution quality, and long-term market impact.
Top Venture Capital Deals
Top M&A / IPO Deals
Looking Ahead
The 2025 Venture Report places Indiana’s tech venture activity in national context while identifying the data, dynamics, and signals shaping the next phase of growth for the state’s innovation ecosystem. While challenges remain, particularly around exits and scale-stage capital, Indiana enters 2026 positioned to convert disciplined investment and sector depth into durable, long-term growth.
Corteva Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) and bp (NYSE: BP, LSE: BP.L) today announced the launch of Etlas, their new 50:50 joint venture that will produce oil from crops – including canola, mustard and sunflower – for use in the production of biofuels like sustainable (or synthetic) aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (RD). Etlas will harness both Corteva’s century-long expertise in seed technology to develop crops ideally suited to produce SAF and RD as well as bp’s expertise in refining and marketing fuel for the commercial transportation market.
Etlas aims to produce one million metric tonnes of feedstock per year by the mid-2030s, which could produce over 800 thousand tonnes of biofuel. Initial supply is scheduled to begin in 2027 for use in co-processing at refineries as well as at dedicated biofuels plants.
Leading industry estimates have global demand for SAF growing to as much as 10 million tonnes by 2030[1] — from about 1 million tonnes in 2024, while global demand for RD could rise to as much as 35 million tonnes by 2030[2] from approximately 17 million tonnes in 2024. Etlas is designed to provide a reliable, scalable supply of feedstock to help meet this expected demand.
The feedstock Etlas uses will be harvested from crops that are grown on existing cropland, between main food cropping seasons. Such intermediate crops can help improve soil health while providing farmers with a new revenue stream. As they use existing cropland during times when it has previously been unproductive like a fallow or cover period, they also do not lead to additional demand for land.
Judd O’Connor, executive vice president of Corteva’s seed business unit added: “By helping found Etlas, Corteva continues to deliver on two critical parts of our mission: to help fuel the world and to support farmers. Agriculture is part of the solution, and we are excited to see Etlas come to life.”
Philipp Schoelzel, senior vice president, biofuels growth, bp added: “This capital light joint venture creates optionality in our biofuels value chain, strengthening our position and helping deliver attractive returns. We’re excited to collaborate with Corteva to deliver what our customers want.”
Ignacio Conti, Global Business Development Director at Corteva will be the new Etlas Chief Executive Officer and Gaurav Sonar, vice president, Novel Feedstocks at bp will become its Chair of the Board of Directors.
“As the aviation industry looks for reliable, sustainable and cost-competitive sources of SAF, it is clear farmers have a critical role to play,” said Etlas CEO, Ignacio Conti. “Etlas brings together global leaders in agriculture innovation and energy production to harness this demand by leveraging technological expertise and trusted relationships with farmers around the world to help scale production and boost supply while offering farmers new revenue streams.”
