BioGenerator Startup Connect
Thank you for joining us for Startup Connect 2026
From startup presentations and investor conversations to networking and new connections, this year's event created opportunities to explore collaboration, investment, and the ideas shaping the future of bioscience and agtech.
We hope you'll join us in 2027, on September 8 & 9.
The 2026 Recap
Over two days, Startup Connect 2026 offered:
- Presentations from more than a dozen high-potential startups in human health and agriculture
- Opportunities to meet leading venture investors and ecosystem partners
- Engagement with academic, government, and corporate leaders
- Meetings and networking to explore collaboration and investment
2026 Keynote Speaker
Jim McKelvey
Co-Founder, Square (Block), Founder, Fastrials
Jim McKelvey is Founder of Fastrials, Co-founder of Square (Block), former Chair of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, and a Washington University trustee. He is a renowned artist/designer with works in the Smithsonian and Museum of Modern Art and a serial entrepreneur committed to innovation in healthcare and sustainability.
2026 Presenting Companies
Medical Device
Agriculture
Therapeutic
Agriculture
Consumer/Tools & Services
Digital Health
Therapeutic (Vaccine)
Agriculture
Medical Device
Therapeutic
Clinical Training Services
Medical Device
Presenting Sponsor
Program Sponsor
Community Sponsor
Major BioGenerator Funders
Powered by BioGenerator Ventures
As BioSTL’s startup arm, BioGenerator supports the next generation of St. Louis biosciences companies with early capital, talent, and lab space.
- Greater than $50 million invested in early-stage ventures
- 140+ startups launched across human health and agtech
- Portfolio companies have raised $3 billion from 200+ global investors
- 200+ companies have operated from BioGenerator Labs in Cortex and the Helix Center in 39 North
- Thousands of high-quality jobs have been created in the region
The startups presenting at Startup Connect reflect the innovation BioSTL fosters in its mission to grow the St. Louis bioscience ecosystem.