Israeli tech company NRGene plans to open an office in the Cortex innovation district that will serve as its U.S. base of operations.

The analytics company develops computational tools and algorithmic models for trait discovery used by seed companies, animal breeders, and academia.

Its office, which will open this spring at the CIC@CET in the Central West End, will initially have one employee and ultimately grow to about six employees, said Paul Chomet, NRGene’s strategic consultant.

“It makes a lot of sense to be in the heartland of the country with companies such as Monsanto and academic groups like the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center,” Chomet said. “St. Louis is really a cultural hub for this advanced ag genomics work.”