Topeka plans ‘innovation campus’ for animal health startups

GO Topeka, the economic development group in Topeka, Kansas, announced plans to develop a $13 million “innovation campus” in the city.

The new campus is designed to take advantage of the arrival of Plug and Play’s Animal Health/Ag Tech Startup Accelerator program, which will introduce 20 global startups to the city each year. This campus aims to offer research and development spaces as these companies consider the city as a long-term home for operations, according to the announcement.

The 60,000-square-foot campus, in downtown Topeka, will have facilities including wet labs, co-working spaces and meeting spaces.

Plug and Play selected Topeka in 2019 for its first Animal Health and Ag Tech Accelerator Program. The city, which is the capital of Kansas, is centrally located within the KC Animal Health Corridor, home to more than 300 animal health companies. The accelerator in April 2021 selected its first batch of startups in the animal health and ag tech program.

“This is an exciting new step in securing Topeka’s status as a hub of innovation in the Midwest,” said Katrin Bridges, senior vice president of innovation at GO Topeka.