By Editor, AgInvesting Media
Swedish AgTech company OlsAro has closed a €5 million seed investment round to scale up its innovative cereal genetics platform and commercialize its first climate-resilient crop varieties. As reported in the press release, the funding round was led by Industrifonden, with Nordic Foodtech VC acting as co-lead. Additional participation came from returning investors Future Food Fund, PINC (Paulig’s venture arm), AgFunder, and GU Ventures.
This latest injection of capital brings OlsAro’s total funding to approximately €7.5 million, following a €2.5 million pre-seed round in April 2024. The company utilizes its proprietary SeedAX platform to target environmental stressors like salinity, heat, and drought, addressing urgent challenges facing modern agriculture.
Scaling Technology and International Reach
With approximately one-tenth of the world’s cropland affected by salinity—and rising threats from drought and extreme weather—OlsAro’s technology aims to address critical vulnerabilities in global cereal production. The SeedAX platform combines proprietary genetics, data analytics, and AI-driven trait discovery to help seed companies develop climate-resilient varieties more rapidly.
The company’s salinity-resilient wheat has already demonstrated an up to 41% yield increase over moderately salt-tolerant alternatives under saline conditions in Bangladesh. The new capital will be used to push these innovations further, supporting expanded international field trials and collaborative efforts with global seed-company partners.
Elén Faxö, CEO of OlsAro, highlighted the significance of the funding for the company’s broader trajectory: “We have spent years proving that we can identify and develop genetics that perform under some of the conditions putting the greatest pressure on agriculture,” he said.
“This round is about turning that capability into a platform seed companies can use repeatedly. By expanding SeedAX across more traits and markets, we can help our partners bring climate-resilient cereals to farmers faster and at much greater scale.”
Future R&D and Pipeline Expansion
Beyond the commercialization of its initial salinity-resilient wheat product, OlsAro plans to broaden its R&D scope. The company will initiate new development programs targeting drought tolerance and nitrogen-use efficiency, while also extending its pipeline into other cereal crops, such as rice.
Investors emphasized the strength of OlsAro’s scientific approach and its tangible field results as key motivators for backing the expansion.
“What convinced us about OlsAro was the scientific work behind the company, together with its field-trial results and existing seed-company partnerships. With SeedAX, OlsAro has the opportunity to turn this into a scalable platform for seed companies looking to develop climate-resilient varieties across multiple traits and markets,” said Sara Frykstrand Ångström, Investment Manager and Head of Intelligence at Industrifonden, in the press release.
By scaling its operations and broadening its genetic database, OlsAro further aims to solidify its position as an essential partner for international agricultural enterprises striving to maintain crop yields amid a shifting global climate.
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