Data Snapshot: Food security & sustainability drove $2.6b in funding for Ag Biotech in 2021
Top Ag Biotech investment deals in 2021 covered gene editing, farm inputs, animal health solutions, and biofertilizers, among others.
Top Ag Biotech investment deals in 2021 covered gene editing, farm inputs, animal health solutions, and biofertilizers, among others.
When it comes to crops, biologicals are all the rage as a means to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint – and increasingly as a solution to supply chain disruption. Decoy says livestock will be next.
Access to talent, investors, and new technologies are among the benefits CTC and CoverCress have found in St Louis ag biotech community BRDG Park.
Startups developing biological crop inputs secured a total of $892 million in funding last year.
Greenlight Biosciences develops RNA products for agriculture and human health, including in the Covid-19 vaccine arena.
The Boston, US-based startup says its natural, microbial alternative to traditional nitrogen fertilizer is crop-agnostic, non-GMO, and cost-effective for farmers facing rising fertilizer costs.
The Seoul-based startup closed a $15 million Series B round last month, with the Asian Development Bank among the participating investors.
The biological inputs market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% over the next five years, compared to chemicals’ 3.7%, according to recent market research.
There is “no non-engineered way” to fight climate change at scale and in time, says chief science officer Ellen Jorgensen.
It seems counterintuitive that shorter crops can result in enhanced yields; but they are more resistant to high winds and other extreme weather events, writes Bayer’s Richard Lawrence.
“The insights from this agreement will [inform] how we grow, separate, and treat our cranberries to optimize for target health benefits and sustainability.”
The Ithaca, New York-based startup will use the funding to commercialize its biopesticide product and expand field trials to more row crops.
The US startup embeds “living sensors” in seeds that can signal plant distress, helping to mitigate crop loss and over-reliance on pesticides.
The Australian startup inoculates crops with symbiotic microbial fungi that boost plants’ natural ability to sequester carbon in the soil they grow in.
Andes has developed a seed treatment that enhances crops’ nitrogen-fixing capabilities, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers. It’s eyeing carbon next.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based startup captures and screens microbes found in the natural world to identify apt candidates for pest control and crop protection.
In a world first, the GM crop – developed in the early 1990s to provide higher levels of vitamin A – was recently approved for commercial planting in the Philippines.
The ag biotech company, which uses the RNA tech made famous by Covid-19 vaccines, will list on the Nasdaq – eventually providing an exit for investors including AgFunder, S2G Ventures, and Continental Grain Company.
The Netherlands startup is using CRISPR to perform non-transgenic genome edits on plant varieties – in addition to developing nanotech-enabled delivery of crop inputs.
Investor backing for technologies focusing on or close to the farm soared to $7.9 billion in 2020, or 41%, representing a bigger year-over-year jump than both agrifoodtech and global VC investing.
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