By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
Sydney, Australia-based agtech company Number 8 Bio has closed an A$11 million Series A round, fueling its push to tackle livestock methane emissions right at the source: their digestive system. Led by New Zealand’s Icehouse Ventures, the fundraising extended to Main Sequence and newcomer ONE Innovators, a carbon-focused VC firm from Japan, in an oversubscribed round, signaling strong validation of the company’s farmer-centric approach. Proceeds will be used to accelerate the commercialization of the agtech’s methane-reducing livestock feed solution, highlighting methane mitigation as an investable and commercially available opportunity.
Number 8 Bio’s mission is to solve the 70 percent of livestock methane emissions that current solutions can’t reach in a way that makes sense for farmers and their bottom line, per the company. Alongside commercialization plans, the capital will be directed toward expanded field trials and regulatory compliance ahead of a targeted Australian market debut in 2026. The company states, “Australia’s agriculture industry has a strong track record of reducing emissions, but we believe there is an opportunity to reduce livestock methane further while unlocking value for our producers.”
Co-founded by Dr. Tom Williams and Dr. Alex Carpenter in 2022, Number 8 Bio has designed a slow-release solution called BetterFeed, a range of livestock feed additives created to cut methane emissions at the source while giving animals more usable energy. Their products work in the rumen of cattle, sheep and goats, targeting the microbes responsible for methane released through belching and flatulence. By redirecting that lost energy back into growth and production, Number 8 Bio explains that herds can make better use of the feed they’re already eating, turning more of it into milk, meat or wool while helping farmers to unlock more value.
Icehouse Ventures Investment Manager Mason Bleakley shared the journey leading up to the VC firm’s investment. In a LinkedIn post, Bleakley explained that after a year of discussions with Number 8 Bio management team, he came away with a “deep conviction” in the opportunity, citing a rare combination of domain expertise and execution focus, expert team and a solution that delivers immediate economic value to every part of the supply chain, which he noted is the key to achieving “real-world adoption at scale.”
Australia-based VC firm Main Sequence was among the first backers to recognize the potential in Number 8 Bio, saying the capital raise positions the company to scale a technology designed to crack one of agriculture’s toughest climate challenges. “We backed Number 8 Bio early because they’re solving methane mitigation with scientific rigor and economic realism — a combination the world urgently needs,” the VC firm stated.
Reflecting on his upbringing in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Dr. Williams reflected on his roots in the Waikato region and the “number 8 wire mentality” that inspired the company’s name, shorthand for the ingenuity that rural farmers have long relied on to solve tough problems with limited tools. He noted that the same mindset guides Number 8 Bio’s work inside the rumen, where a complex microbial community turns grass into nutrition but also produces methane and wastes a share of the animal’s feed energy in the process.
Drawing on his background in microbial engineering, Williams said that understanding and improving this system requires creativity as much as science, and that the company’s mission is built on that blend of resourcefulness and biological insight. As Number 8 Bio moves toward large-scale trials and commercial rollout, that “number 8 wire” ethos continues to shape how the team tackles one of livestock agriculture’s hardest climate challenges.
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