AgBiome, a crop protection company in North Carolina, has raised $116M in its latest funding round, co-led by Blue Horizon Ventures and Novalis LifeSciences.
Microbe manager: Investors are backing the company that focuses on naturally-derived fungicides. With AgBiome’s microbial collection, combined with microbe sequencing and its strain identification system dubbed “GENESIS,” they’re able to develop natural fungicide products for the market. Science.
The goal of their products is to provide the same level of protection with biological products that synthetic chemicals provide.
Shoot for (or howl at) the moon: Howler®, AgBiome’s first fungicide product, works on soil-borne, foliar diseases and various mildews on strawberries, grapes, leafy vegetables, cucurbits, pome fruit, and stone fruit. Howler works on more than 300 crop-disease combinations. How do you like them apples?
Climate helpers: The company also highlights their technology could help with climate change, citing “50 to 70% fewer greenhouse gases through microbial-based pesticides versus synthetic ones.”
In the pipeline: We’ll see their second product, Theia Fungicide, in 2022 while their third fungicide is with the EPA for registration. AgBiome says they’ll use the funds raised to expand its product portfolio and scale its team. Their plan is to have 11 products on the market by 2025.