Agricultural startup AEMS Corp is now operating out of CSU Spur – becoming the first industry partner to lease wet lab space through the CSU Spur Agricultural Innovation Center.
AEMS Corp will commercialize its first product, a sanitizer for sprout seeds that eliminates dangerous bacteria infecting edible sprouts. The company cited the open, collaborative environment of Spur, and exchanges on agriculture innovations between the company, faculty, students and entrepreneurs.
“I believe the CSU Spur campus is a fertile ground for growing our business with its exceptional staff, energetic students, and its spirit of innovation,” said W. Scott Compel, AEMS Corp’s co-founder and CEO, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Colorado State University. “The creative dynamic on campus will produce industry champions. I am thrilled to be a part of the agricultural innovation community and to build our business here.”
The Spur campus, which uniquely welcomes the public, researchers, scientists and industry into the same space, offers a focus on transparency and collaborative engagement. That very model is what is so intriguing to companies, said Jordan Lambert, director of the Agricultural Innovation Center at CSU Spur.
“Spur was designed to foster innovation that crosses disciplines so that we can solve the toughest challenges facing our food system,” Lambert said. “It is such a pleasure to see that vision become reality as we welcome Scott and his company to our ecosystem.”
Reflective of the larger mission of CSU Spur to educate the public and solve major issues around food, water, and health, AEMS seeks to solve problems in agriculture, food processing and biopharma – the company will also utilize the unique campus to partner with the Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management master’s degree program to help students transition from academia to industry by sharing business challenges and learning.
“CSU Spur, with its product development and sensory testing laboratories, experienced faculty, and talented agriculture students, will be able to help AEMS perform critical market assessments of its products for accelerating market introductions,” said Laston Charriez, assistant professor and industry liaison for the Agribusiness & Food Innovation Management program.
About the Ag Innovation Center (AIC) at Spur
The CSU Spur Agricultural Innovation Center focuses on accelerating agtech businesses that support water-limited regenerative agriculture and builds on the land-grant mission of serving farmers by connecting university expertise with the startup and innovation landscape. This is accomplished by creating processes, tools, and networks that help entrepreneurs, investors, and corporations to center the voices of farmers and their trusted advisors in the technology and business design process.
About CSU Spur
CSU Spur opened in 2022 as a free educational year-round public life-long learning destination in Denver focused on engaging PreK-12 students, families and visitors around food, water and health. CSU Spur showcases the work of the CSU System campuses: CSU, CSU Pueblo, and CSU Global, and offers degree programs that originate from the campus offerings. Spur is built upon the land-grant mission of access to education and the belief that students can be anything they want to be. To inspire learners of all ages to engage in important world issues, CSU Spur brings together scientists to collaborate, puts science on-display, and showcases career paths. The CSU Spur campus provides immersive learning experiences and cutting-edge research across three buildings: Vida, Terra and Hydro. Learn more at CSUSpur.org.
