Kaiima Raises $65 Million, Aiming for Food Sustainability

When your company’s name translates as “sustainability,” you’d better have promise. One agro-biotech company has just that; in fact, it’s got about $65 million worth.

Kaiima, a agro-biotech company based in Moshav Sharona, Israel, announced it raised over $65 million dollars from investors. Horizons Ventures, a Hong Kong-based company, which has also invested in Skype, Facebook and Spotify, and International Financial Corporation, which is part of the World Bank, were two of those investors.

“By 2050, farmers will be tasked to produce 70% more food than they do today to sustain the growing world population,” said Dr. Doron Gal, chief executive officer of Kaiima.

To Gal, this fact isn’t an omen; it’s an opportunity. “This is a daunting challenge that modern agricultural technology must rise up to meet,” Gal said. “The strategic alliance we have formed with our new investors fuels our rapid advances in yield enhancement technology, and positions Kaiima to become an outstanding participant in the global fight against hunger.”

Unlike many other biotech and agtech companies, Kaiima isn’t messing around with gene modification. Using a technology called Enhanced Ploidy technology (EP™), Kaiima multiplies the plant’s genome without compromising the seed integrity. The non-GMO technology is implemented within the genome of crops to boost productivity and improve land and water-use efficiencies.

“Rather than protect against yield loss, as many GM technologies are designed to do,” said Jeffrey Beard, chairman of Kaiima, “Kaiima’s non-GMO technology is the first since hybridization that actually boosts yield.”

Kaiima has already proven themselves as a powerful and promising agtech company—they’ve demonstrated better yield in crops such as wheat, maize, rapeseed and castor. And that was all before the $65 million. Just imagine what they’ll do now.