US-headquartered packaged food producer Mars has entered into a research and development (R&D) agreement with Israel-based venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP).
Mars will focus on food, agricultural and healthcare technology through entrepreneurial and R&D units Mars Edge and Mars Advanced Research Institute, partnering local universities including Hebrew University, Weizmann Institute and Technion.
The partnership will address sustainability challenges, incubating and backing Israel-based startups in the process.
Mars’ pet health and nutrition product subsidiary, Mars Petcare, has been particularly active in corporate venturing, having formed an open innovation scheme called Kinship with a $100m fund last month, having launched a $100m Companion Fund and an accelerator called Leap a year earlier.
