At Purdue University, students aren’t just learning about venture capital, they’re shaping the future of startups. Guided by faculty and experts in the field, students taking part in the Student Managed Venture Fund step into the role of venture analyst by vetting and recommending companies for investment. To deepen the connection, participants in the most recent course collaborated with Purdue Strategic Ventures, leading to real investments into two Purdue-connected startups.
“Our undergrad program is growing and full of outstanding students in the business school and across campus,” Clinical Professor of Management Matthew Lynall said. “It’s the sort of course that attracts the best and brightest – prospective venture investors as well as future company founders -to get a semester of experience as a venture analyst, but also to gain the critical thinking and analytical skills important for any career.”
For Strategic Ventures, the collaboration was a novel way to support its mission of investing in the next generation of Purdue-connected startups.
“I was thrilled to be able to connect high-impact startups to this class,” Purdue Strategic Ventures Managing Director Danielle Salters said. “This experience is a win-win: students gain experience, and we are able to make meaningful investments into innovative companies based on the students’ diligence.”
Learn more about the two companies Purdue students saw as investment worthy:
Wave Therapeutics is a HealthTech startup with a unique, patent-pending therapeutic technology that can help prevent pressure injuries. Their initial product is an active therapeutic wheelchair cushion, a more effective, more affordable alternative to devices currently on the market.
The Purdue connection: Both Founder, President, and CEO Jessica Bussert and CFO Sharon Bussert attended Purdue.
Founder, President, and CEO Jessica Bussert jumped at the chance to participate once invited by Salters. “I am a big believer in doing what you can to advance the careers and opportunities of future generations,” said Bussert. “This was even more impactful since once of the students had a personal connection to the problem we’re solving. From that, we could prove our company’s value with not only our strength of team and tech, but we had tangible proof of a real-world need.”
What’s next?
Wave Therapeutics is very close to launching their first product. The company has begun limited manufacturing and longevity testing and the investment from Strategic Ventures came at a pivotal time for acquiring test equipment. Bussert noted that Purdue investment also unlocked additional government funds, multiplying the initial investment.
Krishi is transforming livestock health management with its Sherpa™ molecular diagnostic technology, providing rapid, pen-side antibiotic guidance for Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) in beef cattle and dairy cows. Up to 40% of BRD cases require antibiotic retreatment, and 90% of those retreatments use a different antibiotic class due to initial treatment failure. Without rapid diagnostics, producers risk using ineffective antibiotics, increasing costs and reducing success rates. Sherpa™ solves this problem by delivering lab-quality results within an hour, allowing producers to make informed antibiotic selections immediately.
The Purdue connection: CTO Mohit Verma is a Purdue professor and Krishi uses Purdue technology licensed from the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization. The company has raised over $1.1 million since an initial pre-seed investment from the Strategic Ventures AgCelerator fund.
“We believe we were chosen because of our compelling technology poised to change the world as well as the diverse and balanced background of our team,” CEO Aaron Gilbertie said. “We enjoyed engaging with students of a variety of backgrounds – they came with fresh perspectives and insightful questions. Their support and investment from Strategic Ventures means we’re one step closer to bringing our product to market.”
What’s next?
Krishi received this funding at a pivotal point in its growth. The company is currently manufacturing its first SHERPA Vision and SHERPA Chip for rapid testing and recommendations and will head into the field in April 2025. If you are a part of the beef or dairy industry and would be interested in becoming an early tester, get in touch with the Krishi team to learn more.
Media contact: Polly Barks, phbarks@prf.org
About Purdue Strategic Ventures
Purdue Strategic Ventures provides strategic support, early-stage investment and community activation for Purdue-connected, venture-scale startups with strong growth potential across agriculture, deep tech, digital tech, mobility and life sciences. Within the Purdue Research Foundation, Strategic Ventures unlocks opportunities for lasting startup growth, transforming potential into performance for portfolio companies.
Strategic Ventures is the nexus between entrepreneurial talent and strategic capital, driving Boilermaker innovation and investment success. For more information, visit strategicventures.prf.org.
About Wave Therapeutics
Founded in 2020 by Jessica Bussert, RN, CEO, Wave Therapeutics has developed the first AI-enabled, soft robotics cushioning technology to prevent and treat pressure injuries such as bedsores which afflict 3 million Americans every year. Mobility-impaired people are especially vulnerable to pressure injuries, which can be life-threatening and are the main cause of 60,000 deaths annually. Wave Therapeutics’ patented Surf Wheelchair Cushion is designed to eliminate pressure “hot spots” on the body that can develop into bedsores. It combines a pulsing mechanism with its patented analytics platform to promote better blood flow to the heart and lungs, which is believed to properly reoxygenate affected tissues and reduce the risk of damage. Learn more at www.wavetherapeuticsinc.com.
About Krishi Diagnostics Inc.
Krishi offers actionable insights for agriculture and animal health applications through Sherpa™, its rapid, point-of-care, and easy-to-use molecular diagnostics platform. For more information, visit krishidiagnostics.com.
