Sustainability is the name of the game for these startups who recently raked in new piles of investment dollars.
Here’s a snapshot of where agtech startup bucks are headed for environmentally-friendly microbes, biofertilizers, and biomolecule injections:
1. The biofertilizer biz. Kula Bio recently raised a cool $10M in a seed round led by Collaborative Fund, which hosts notable nature-conscious groups like The Nature Conservancy and Lowercarbon Capital, to name a few.
Specializing in sustainable nitrogen solutions, its Kula-N product is a next-generation nitrogen biofertilizer that helps farmers maintain yields while lessening the impact of traditional fertilizers.
2. Citrus’ savior? Invaio Sciences came up with almost $89M in a Series C round led by Flagship Pioneering. One of its focus areas is preventing Citrus Greening Disease by injecting a natural peptide straight into the crop versus spraying crop protection products.
Besides citrus, Invaio is working on products to help olive and perennial customers. Since its founding in 2018, Invaio has been in a steady R&D phase but plans to have products on the market by 2022.
3. Paring down the phosphorus. Earlier this month, Israeli startup GroundWork BioAg closed on $11M in venture financing.
Mycorrhizal inoculants are the new, shiny science behind maximizing yields while reducing the need for phosphorus fertilizers. While conventional farming practices typically destroy mycorrhiza and other microbes that occur naturally in the soil, Groundwork BioAg hopes to reverse the trend. It also sequesters carbon. #win-win