May 12, 2015
A group of investors including Monsanto, Cultivation Capital, the St. Louis Arch Angels, and the Biogenerator, have invested $2.5 million in St. Louis-based agtech startup, Arvegenix.
Founded in 2013 and led by former Monsanto executive, Jerry Steiner, Arvegenix is working to develop Pennycress, an annual energy crop that is grown over the winter season while farmland is idle. The crop is mainly being developed as an oilseed feedstock for renewable fuel production.
The investment will be used by Arvegenix to expand the company’s operations and research and development platform, and to fund additional regulatory studies.
Other investors involved in the deal include Prolog Ventures, Prelude Ventures, The Yield Lab, The Helix Fund, and Missouri Tech Group, and as part of the deal, Cultivation Capital general manager, Rick Holton will join the Arvegenix board of directors.
Arvegenix is one of five companies to be awarded a commitment of $100,000 by The Yield Lab startup accelerator, which is led by former Novus International chief executive officer, Thad Simon.
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