By Lynda Kiernan
Mission-driven seed breeding technology company Inari announced it has secured a further $45 million through a loan and security agreement with life sciences-focused investor K2 HeathVentures (K2HV) .
The capital gained through this deal will be complementary to an $89 million Series C raised by the company in August 2019 that was funded by by its founder Flagship Pioneering, along with Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), global investor EDBI, and Acre Venture Partners, as well as additional unnamed investors.
It also builds upon a $40 million Series B raised by the company in August 2018 that was led by Flagship and included Acre Venture Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments.
Launched by Flagship in 2016 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Inari was created with a mission to transform agriculture and mitigate its impact on society and the environment through new approaches to plant breeding that reduce the natural resources needed to grow food.
“Inari is at the forefront of a new wave of innovation that has the potential to completely reshape agriculture,” said Robert Berendes, Ph.D., executive partner at Flagship Pioneering, in August 2019.
“The company has developed leading-edge technologies and a fresh approach to plant breeding. Its products will substantially improve crop productivity, reduce environmental impact, and make farming more profitable for everyone in the value chain.”
Today, with additional sites in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Ghent, Belgium, the company partners with independent seed producers, using computational agronomy and gene editing practices to bring together biological and data sciences that enable its team and scientific partners to breed new crops that are better suited to specific environments.
“We’re excited to support Inari’s vision to create value through innovative scientific discovery and products focused on sustainability,” said Parag Shah, founding managing director and CEO, K2 HealthVentures. “This financing follows our strategy of partnering with pioneering life science technology companies with world class management that aim to deliver solutions for critical global challenges.”
To-date, the company has achieved several product benchmarks. Its first generation of proprietary improved corn and soybeans are currently being tested in greenhouses, and its gene editing technologies have been proven in tomato field trials. This capital will support the company in its goal to commercialize its gene-edited hybrid corn and soybean varieties in the near future.
K2 HealthVentures is an alternative investment firm focused on innovative private and public companies in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. A uniquely flexible, permanent capital structure allows K2HV to provide creative, long-term, and adaptive financing solutions to meet the needs of each of its portfolio companies while also fulfilling its mission of fueling the growth of companies that will ultimately improve lives, and giving back a percentage of its investment profits to underserved areas in healthcare.
“Our alliance with K2HV enhances our financial position,” said Ponsi Trivisvavet, CEO, Inari. “It supports further expansion of our research and technology platform, as well as the development and commercialization of products that align sustainability with cutting-edge biotechnology. The K2HV team has a strong understanding of our innovative approach to plant breeding and confidence in our vision of agriculture.”
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.