September 14, 2018

Out of 519 nominees, the 2Blades Foundation of Evanston, IL has been selected as one of the Top 100 Finalists still in the running for the 17th annual Chicago Innovation Awards.  The awards celebrate the most innovative new products and services in the Chicago region across all organization sizes, sectors and industries.  1500 business and civic leaders will come together to honor the winners when they are announced on October 29th at Chicago’s Harris Theater.

2Blades is a Top 100 Finalist in the 2018 Chicago Innovation Awards

2Blades leverages plant biodiversity to find resistance to the most damaging crop diseases. Through development programs at its laboratories in Norwich, UK and Nairobi, Kenya, and in partnership with universities, research institutes and companies, 2Blades uses the most effective genomic tools to identify, combine, and transfer disease resistance into crops. By developing seeds with durable disease resistance, 2Blades is creating high-tech solutions in the low-tech, familiar format of seed. 

“We are thrilled to be a Top 100 Finalist in this year’s Chicago Innovation Awards,” said Dr. Diana Horvath, Co-Founder and President of 2Blades. “We are pleased the judges have recognized the important role innovation has to play in building a more resilient agriculture and are honored to have been included in this diverse group of groundbreaking companies and organizations”. 

“Chicago continues to rise as a global hub of innovation due to the breadth of organizations in our region that introduce a stream of new products and services into the market each year,” said Tom Kuczmarski, co-founder with Chicago journalist Dan Miller of the awards.  “This year’s nominees generated a combined total of $3.44 billion in revenues through their new products and services alone.”

As one of the Top 100 Finalists, 2Blades will receive a $2,500 scholarship to attend The Practical Innovator, a day-long executive education course on September 26th led by top faculty who teach innovation at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Each of the Top 100 Finalists is also in the running for the annual “People’s Choice Award,” selected through online balloting at https://chicagoinnovation.com/peoples-choice-award-voting/.

Out of the Top 100 Finalists, the judges will select 10 winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards, as well as 10 winners of the Up-and-Comer Awards representing innovation in the start-up community, the Social Innovator Award, the Collaboration Award, and 3 Neighborhood Award winners, which will showcase innovation occurring in Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods.  The winners will be invited to ring the NASDAQ Bell in New York City, invited to separate meetings with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Governor Bruce Rauner and Cook Count President Toni Preckwinkle, and receive widespread media recognition.