BioConsortia, an agtech startup dedicated to developing microbial solutions that address natural plant traits and crop yield improvements, announced it has raised a recent equity round of $8 million, bringing its total fundraising for the year to $12 million.
The most recent round included existing company investors, Khosla Ventures and Otter Capital, while the raising of $4 million earlier in the year involved Square 1 Bank, a division of Pacific Western Bank.
Millions of microbes live on crops and in the soil in which crops grow, and by exploiting and leveraging the benefits of these microbes can significantly boost yields. BioConsortia, which was originally founded in New Zealand but is now based in Davis, California, has developed a tool that identifies the right combination of microbes to be applied as a seed treatment or soil additive. The company is using the latest genetic technologies such as DNA sequencing and Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis to identify, isolate, and manage plant microbes that could produce a gain in yields of 20% over the next 20 years.
In early 2014, Khosla Ventures and Otter Capital funded BioConsortia’s $15 million Series B which funded the company’s move to California where it is now focusing its research on U.S. microbes, seed genetics, sustainable fertilizers, and advanced agronomic systems.
“We are thrilled with the commitment and support from our existing investors and Square 1 Bank. This is a busy time of year for all in the ag space with field trial data coming in,” ” said Marcus Meadows-Smith, CEO, BioConsortia. “Having funding in place early means that we can keep our foot on the accelerator and continue to expand our research capabilities, field trials program and the number of beneficial traits that we are moving down our pipeline.”
A Company Expanding
In May of this year Bioconsortia announced that Dr. Hong Zhu, was joining the company from Bayer CropScience where he served as Director of Biologics Process Development and was responsible for fermentation, formulation and scale-up for Bayer’s existing and newly developed biological products.
At the time, Meadows-Smith commented, “Hong has proven ability to innovate and lead development teams to deliver high-caliber product launches. He has an eye for effective R&D strategy and is a brilliant addition to our team. He joins us at an ideal time as we now begin to focus more on development after two years of strong research here in the US.”
BioConsortia is also now announcing that it is expanding its fermentation and formulation team and is undertaking the construction of new lab space at its existing R&D facility.
With its enhanced team and facilities, the company plans to build on its work done through its 2016 field trials, expanding the initiative in 2017 to include work with key traits to address drought tolerance and fertilizer use efficiency in corn, soy and wheat. The company will also be exploring biopesticide trials that could address the management of soil-borne diseases in high-value vegetable crops, and pests including corn rootworm.
— Lynda Kiernan