Crop protection startup Enko just received some encouragement—about $70M worth—in its Series C funding round. The latest batch of cash will go toward its platform that “facilitates discovery and development of alternatives to chemical crop protections.”
The Enko engine: Enko’s work with targeted pesticides and herbicides could help lead to the replacement of chemicals used in food production around the world. Investors are paying attention.
Enko’s primary focus is finding new “modes of action” for treating and protecting crops via machine learning-based discovery technology and predictive analytics.
Located in Connecticut, this five-year-old company knows exactly what it wants: “to provide efficient, sustainable alternatives to chemical-based crop treatments that are outdated and, in some cases, completely ineffective.”
One molecule at a time… Enko screens billions of molecules to see how they impact crops, weeds, and pests, examining toxicity risks. Thanks to their efforts, new alternatives to common chemical weed and pest treatments are being discovered.
Keeping the bottom line in mind, Enko believes in maintaining low research and development costs by staying away from bad chemistry.
The company is finding success with its current line of products with “a range of herbicides that are demonstrating breakthrough performance compared to industry standards like glyphosate.”