Engender Technologies Innovates Artificial Insemination in Dairy Cows
New Zealand AgTech startup Engender Technologies “has created a new microfluidic and photonic technology to sort livestock sperm by sex to enrich X chromosome-bearing bull sperm cells,” writes Jennifer Kite-Powell in an article for Forbes.
“New Zealand, with its strong farming traditions, is producing some world-leading agri-technology companies,” said Richard Dellabarca, CEO, New Zealand Venture Investment Fund – one of the investors of the company.
“Engender Technologies is a spin-off from the University of Auckland. It is commercializing microfluidic and photonic technology to improve sorting of sperm by sex for the trillion dollar livestock market, and is building its funding platform to accelerate its development.”
The company’s new technology “uses lasers to orient sperm cells and look inside those sperm cells as well as separate them based on the presence of an X or a Y chromosome,” as reported in the article.
“Engender has an opportunity to substantially reduce the cost of production regarding requiring less capital cost, offering increased fertility rates and the opportunity for artificial insemination companies to introduce competitive pricing into the industry,” said Dellabarca.
“A reduction in fertility has a substantial impact where farmers don’t use hormones to prolong a cow’s milking, which is the majority of markets, as cows must calve each year to continue lactating,” reports the article.
Engender won an AgFunder Innovation award and the Ag-Tech Sector of the World Cup Tech Challenge in Silicon Valley in 2016. The company signed a $1 Million deal with Asia’s biggest animal genetics company in March 2017.
Article Source: Forbes, Jennifer Kite-Powell, November 30, 2017
