![]() ![]() Although this creates some challenges when it comes to educating investors about a new region and helping them wade through uncertain waters, Snipes believes it’s a positive indication of a more robust ecosystem being cultivated in Europe. There are only a handful of funds focused on agtech.”ĭuring the fundraising process, Snipes and PlantResponse spoke with a number of US venture capital funds that have started exploring funding opportunities outside of the US. Europe is not as robust a venture capital network. “Also, the network that Middleland Capital provided us and the introductions they made were incredibly helpful. ![]() ![]() “Yara Germinate is very forward thinking and we have some good nutrient applications, so to get a strategic investor from the nutrient side was a big benefit,” PlantResponse CEO Tom Snipes told AgFunderNews. These products are designed to integrate with farmers’ existing input protocols to boost production. Largely derived from plant innate immunity, the products help plants with overall health, stress mitigation, and nutrient management. It currently has three core products in its portfolio that can be used with specialty crops and row crops alike. The agrobiological company focuses on identifying and developing new molecules and traits that regulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. The new funds will be used to help PlantResponse set up its new commercial headquarters in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, as well as building out its R&D team and agronomic trial network. Yara Germinate, the corporate venture capital fund of fertilizer business Yara, and early-stage venture firm iSelect Fund joined existing investors Bayer Ventures (formerly Monsanto Growth Ventures), Middleland Capital, and Novozymes in this round. Madrid-based PlantResponse held a $6.9 million first close on its Series B investment. With the funding, HFG will accelerate development of RootTracker, a scalable in-field root architecture sensor system for breeding more robust root systems, and Luther, its end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) breeding platform with what the company describes as the first prediction engine for hybrid seed creation. Gro Alliance, KdT Ventures, Prairie Crest Capital, S2G, and Tom Farms. Hi Fidelity Genetics, which was co-founded by a partner at its founding investor Finistere Ventures, has closed a $8.5 million Series A with co-lead investor Fall Line Capital, the farmland and agtech investor. HFG says it has developed new non-GMO corn hybrids that are competitive with current commercial seed. Spanish company PlantResponse manufactures inputs to help plants handle stresses and use nutrients more efficiency including organic-certified products, and Hi Fidelity Genetics uses computational biology to measure and predict plant traits for advanced breeding programs. This week, two startups using different biotechnological approaches to improve the efficiency of row crop farming, raised venture capital funding totaling $15.4 million. It is a broad category involving many different types of technology and science, including breeding, genetics, microbiome research, synthetic chemistry, and animal health. Dubbed Ag Biotech, this category applies to all technologies used on the farm involving biological or chemical processes. Startups are using biotechnologies to provide farmers with new tools to improve the efficiency of their operations. ![]()
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