November 21, 2024

By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

France-based agri-biotech company Elicit Plant has secured a stunning $48 million in a Series B fundraising round, inching closer to greater U.S. market penetration. The company, which also has operations in Brazil, has developed biosolutions for broad acre crops, helping farmers to protect their fields against climate change and water stress. Led by European private equity fund Carbyne Equity Partners, the round also extended to other investors, including Sofinnova Partners, ECBF, and BPI France Investissement’s Ecotechnologies Fund II. Chief among the uses of the proceeds will be to support its U.S. expansion.

Nearly one-quarter of the U.S. land area suffers from water stress, in response to which growers are increasingly seeking out innovative solutions to combat climate change. Elicit Plant’s tech-based platform has facilitated the development of phytosterol-based biosolutions, which are natural molecules compatible with sustainable agriculture. Its products are designed to improve plant resilience amid environmental stresses, slashing crop water consumption by as much as 20 percent. Elicit Plant’s solutions have proven effective among maize, cereals, sunflower and soybean crops, helping farmers to strengthen plant resilience while simultaneously helping to combat the urgent issue of water scarcity.

Of the Series B fundraising, Elicit Plant CEO Jean-François Déchant stated, “This funding has been possible thanks to the validated performance of our products at large scale and our fast-growing success in the French, European and Brazilian markets. We are at the forefront of delivering to farmers proven field solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change. As the global demand for our products grows, this fundraising provides us with the resources to enable us to enter strategic markets like the United States and become a global leader by 2028.”

In addition to a U.S. expansion, where the company has been performing field trials in the Corn Belt region for the past couple of years, Elicit Plant intends to use the investments to accelerate the commercial development of its solution throughout key European and Brazilian markets. Elicit Plant is also eyeing strategic partnerships with agri-input entities similar to those inked with industry giants Bayer and BASF to ensure on-the-ground adoption of its products.

Bayer recently became Elicit Plant’s exclusive distributor in France of its Best-a and EliZea products that target maize water stress issues. Additionally, the BASF partnership was formed to advance the development of biostimulants EliSun-a and EliGrain-a for France’s sunflower and cereal markets.

So far, Elicit Plant’s Bomafit Corn solution has received the regulatory green light in nearly a dozen Corn Belt states, which incidentally are delivering a bumper crop this year. The company plans to introduce new biosolutions for corn by 2025 followed by the addition of soybeans and other crops by 2027. After tapping U.S. entrepreneur Dr. Pam Marrone as chairwoman of its board of directors, Elicit Plant also has plans to expand its team across sales, marketing and agronomic activities.

Carbyne Partners’ Marius Dantl said, “We believe in the crucial role of biosolutions in the transition towards sustainable agriculture. Elicit Plant’s accomplished management team, the superior value proposition to farmers in key agricultural production regions as well as field proven products’ performance absolutely convinced us.”

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