Plug and Play execs say expansion to Indy will have ‘generational impact’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIn March 2024, California-based Plug and Play cut the ribbon on its first Indiana location in Warsaw, an office focused on supporting startups in the orthopedics and med-tech sectors.
Just over a year later, the startup accelerator said it is expanding to the planned $138 million IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences, or IU LAB, in Indianapolis as part of the new IU Health Incubator.
The new Indianapolis location, part of the 16 Tech Innovation District near the city’s downtown, will have an emphasis on recruiting and growing promising startups in the life sciences and biosciences.
Officials think a synergy between Plug and Play locations in Indy and Warsaw can create some tremendous happenings.
“It really leans into what I believe is two of the industries the state is very strong and but probably not on par with Boston or San Diego; they’re more established markets, and we’re kind of this emerging market,” said Brandon Noll, Indiana director for Plug and Play. “So if you’re a venture capital firm or you’re in the space we’re in for innovation, this is a perfect entry point for us to really maximize our global footprint and presence…and then be able to tie in what’s happening in Warsaw to what’s happening in Indianapolis.”
In total, Plug and Play has more than 50 locations on five continents. Its network includes more than 10,000 startups and more than 400 corporate partners, including Google, Microsoft, and JPMorgan Chase.
Plug and Play founder and CEO Saeed Amidi told Inside INdiana Business host Gerry Dick that the Life Tech Accelerator that the organization will operate along with the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership is all about connecting technologies with corporations to help bring them to market.
“You need the collaboration of large corporations–which we have incredible health care corporations here in Indiana—and we feel we could scale the number of technology startups here, similar to what has been done in Silicon Valley [and] Boston, but right here in Indianapolis,” Amidi said.
Amidi said the potential for Indiana to become an even greater player in the life sciences sector lies in the talent coming from institutions such as Indiana University and Purdue University, but also having industry giants like Eli Lilly and Co. right in the middle of the state.
“I met a few technology startups that had [people with] 20 years of employment at Eli Lilly,” he said. “Imagine if you combine that experience with the new technology and the new idea and the entrepreneurial spirit, I think it can be very powerful.”
The combination, Amidi said, of the med-tech focus of Plug and Play’s office in Warsaw with the life sciences and biosciences focus in Indianapolis will create an overall spotlight on preventive and holistic health.
“There is going to be a lot of med-tech…lifestyle at your home, at your work, in your car, and we feel combination of preventive health care, it’s going to merge, especially with the AI,” he said. “You could really treat the person way before you need to give them medicine. And we feel combining med-tech and biosciences is the future.”
The plan over the next year is to recruit more than 20 startups from around the world, drive collaboration and innovation among startups, corporations and venture capitalists, and create a hub of entrepreneurial activity at IU LAB and 16 Tech, the IBJ reported last week.
“I really believe that if we execute this appropriately, it will have generational impact,” Noll said. “I think all of the right players are at the table and in the room all with a common goal, and it’s all mission above ourselves. There’s a lot of things happening really good around the state, and it’s kind of in silos. Well, let’s not silo this. Let’s do it for the good of the group. Let’s do it for the good of the state.”