R&D Focus at the MN Chamber of Commerce

Verterra Founder Ted Christopher spoke about the state of R&D in Minnesota at the MN Chamber of Commerce 2025 Economic Summit along with Kendall Griffith, Senior Vice President of Mortenson, Tom Hockenberry, Vice President, Nutrition, Technology and Science of General Mills, which was moderated by Brooke Lee, CEO of the Anchor Paper company. The panel covered a lot of ground including what Minnesota is doing right, the impact of Ai and what the state needs to do going forward to foster the spirit of innovation which has already produced 17 Fortune 500 companies.

A question on what the MN environment look like for startups:

You've heard from these folks, who's companies are slightly larger than Verterra at the moment...

A question on the relationships between startups and universities:

"Startup hotbeds almost always emanate from or are supported by great universities."

A question on Ai on and its impact on innovation:

"Curiosity leads to figuring out how to make something work - not just having work to do. That's not something you can program in to Ai."