December 21, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Sound Agriculture, a developer of nature-based biochemical solutions that enable agriculture to adapt faster to climate change while producing healthier, more sustainable foods, announced the close of a $75 million Series D led by new investors BMO Impact Investment Fund and Chan Zuckerburg Initiative. 

Also participating in this round, which brings total funding to-date since the company’s launch in 2103 to $155 million, were FootPrint Coalition and returning investors Leaps by Bayer, Syngenta Group Ventures, S2G Ventures, Fall Line Capital, Cavallo Ventures, and Northpond Ventures.

Merging modern science with the knowledge of the challenges faced by today’s growers, Sound Agriculture is behind breakthrough discoveries about how crops interact with the environment.

The company’s initial product, SOURCE™, which was launched last year, unlocks nitrogen and phosphorus present in the soil to support plant and soil health, and improve on-farm efficiency. Applied as a foliar spray, SOURCE™ activates microbes in the soil that make more nitrogen and phosphorus more readily available to a plant. By harnessing the power of what is already present in the field, Sound Agriculture is able to reduce the need for synthetic fertilizer in corn by up to 50 pounds per acre while maintaining, or improving yields.

Since its launch in 2020, SOURCE™ has seen rapid adoption and 4.3x growth in 2022; now being used on more than 1 million U.S. acres.

The startup is also addressing shifting consumer demands with its next-generation, on-demand plant breeding platform that accelerates traits that improve the nutrition, taste, and sustainability of food without employing genetic modification.

Using epigenetics, Sound Agriculture breeds novel plant traits 10 times faster than traditional methods at a fraction of the cost, and without altering the plant’s DNA. Over the past two years, the company has signed partnerships with more than a dozen leading food and ag companies to improve flavor, reduce spoilage, increase yields, and enhance nutrition in a variety of crops including corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, yellow peas, and tomatoes.

“Our food system needs to change and it needs to happen quickly,” said Adam Litle, CEO, Sound Agriculture. “We’re committed to fighting a trifecta of issues that include food insecurity, environmental damage and poor health – all of which are addressable with the right technology and practices.”

With the capital from this round, Sound Agriculture stated that it intends to expand its Nutrient Efficiency and On-Demand Breeding business lines. 

“We will use this investment to advance our research platforms, grow sales and marketing in the U.S. and abroad, and sign new partnerships to support better methods of farming and food system resiliency,” said Litle. 

In 2023, SOURCE will be launched for use on wheat, cotton, alfalfa, and canola, in addition to corn and soybeans, and will be expanded internationally. Ultimately, the company stated that it aims to reduce more than 100 megatons of CO2 equivalent and avoid 4 billion pounds of nitrates from reaching our waterways by 2030.

“The Sound management team has delivered rapid growth of their high-margin nutrient efficiency business and developed an innovative on-demand breeding platform that creates a step change in how plant traits are bred,” said Marc Khouzami, managing director, BMO Impact Investment Fund.

“The team’s depth and success across these two business lines will impact the full breadth of the food system; from production to consumption. The BMO Impact Investment Fund is thrilled to be partnering with the team to help drive the next phase of the company’s growth and the development of new solutions to increase sustainability in agriculture.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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