“Trying to be the “new Monsanto” or the “Amazon of Ag” does not work; copying what others have already done is not generally a recipe for disruption,” argues Federico Trucco, CEO of Argentine agtech business Bioceres.
The company’s development, called Actiphage, is aimed at a group of diseases caused by mycobacteria, including bovine TB which has already resulted in the slaughter of over 30,000 cattle in the UK and cost the British taxpayer more than £100m
Despite pervasive consumer disapproval, scientists and seed companies have far from abandoned GMOs as a subject of research and development and some new approaches using GM technology could address the more pervasive consumer concerns.
The investment round was led by Viking Global Investors, an American-based hedge fund based in Greenwich, Conn., with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Upfront Ventures and S2G Ventures.
The plant microbiome research and products company counts the Gates Foundation as an investor.
Kevin Chen writes about the different methods and technologies being introduced to reduce or eliminate the use of chemical pesticides in farming.
The “precise and predictable outcomes” of Cibus’ gene editing technology are “identical to those that could occur in nature, given enough time,” argues the company.
Management teams in plant genetics companies have likely been asked by at least one well-intending board member: “Are we using CRISPR? I sat next to this guy on the plane and he said that CRISPR will change everything,” writes Vonnie Estes.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals have created business opportunities for small companies, according to speakers at Techonomy NYC this week.
ADM’s Cibus Fund was joined by existing investors GreenSoil Investments, the Israeli agrifood tech fund, and Middleland Capital, the family office-backed agrifood tech VC.
Biologicals startup Inocucor has acquired ATP Nutrition in the opening salvo of a plan to become a “selective consolidator” in the premium crop inputs space.
Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork processor and hog producer, is launching a partnership with Florida startup Anuvia Plant Nutrients to convert the hog manure created by the company’s farming operations into fertilizer.
We caught up with Adrian Percy, global head of R&D for Crop Science at Bayer on the sidelines of the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, to discuss the company’s open innovation strategies in the area of biologicals and novel crop inputs.
Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks announced the partnership in September 2017. The partners jointly invested $100 million in the venture, making the deal the second largest deal from an Ag Biotechnology startup in 2017, according to the AgFunder data.
After completing 20 pilots in one year, Hazel Technologies has raised a $3.26 million Series A round led by food and agtech VC S2G ventures.
Biolumic has created a seedling treatment using UV light that it says boosts the yield of specialty crops by up to 22% while also making plants heartier and more pest resistant.
Some of the best-funded cannabis startups are in ecommerce, supply chain management, and retail operations, but if keeping a steady supply is indeed a primary concern for this young industry, investors will need to turn their attention toward the more agriculture-focused end of the cannabis startup spectrum.
Micropep Technologies, a French ag biotechnology company has raised a €4 million ($4.94 million) Series A round of funding. Micropep is developing crop enhancement products using micro-RNA or miRNA.
Inscripta is building a business based on selling gene-editing tools, such as instruments, reagents, and software, and in order to create a market for these tools, the company is giving away CRISPR enzymes for free.
From sensors and software to biotechnology, these nine dairy farm tech startups are working to improve safety and efficiency on the world’s dairy farms.
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International Fresh Produce Association launches year 3 of its produce accelerator