May 21, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Sound Agriculture, a developer of sustainable crop solutions that “unleash the natural power of plants”, announced it has raised $22 million through a Series C led by Chicago-based S2G Ventures.

Additional existing investor participants include Cultivian Sandbox, Fall Line Capital, Cavallo Ventures, and Syngenta Ventures. Under the terms of the transaction, Sanjeev Krishnan, managing director and CIO of S2G Ventures, has gained a seat on the Sound Agriculture Board, and Cheryl Martin, Ph.D., founder and principal of Harwich Partners has been named as Chair of the Board. 

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 provides on-demand solutions that allow agriculture to adapt faster to climate change and rapidly shifting consumer preferences, and that help growers produce crops with fewer resources.

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 provide an average corn yield increase of between eight and 10 bushels per acre without additional fertilizer.

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. 

“Sound Agriculture is launching new discoveries that are in line with our goals for a healthier, more resilient and more sustainable food system,” said Krishnan. “By combining our understanding of evolving consumer food preferences with their novel technology platform, we will be able to provide new answers to the challenges facing the entire food system.”

As Chair of the Board, Dr. Martin’s experience on market adoption of new technologies through her prior roles as managing director of the World Economic Forum, acting director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), executive in residence with venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and general manager with specialty chemicals manufacturer Rohm and Haas will help to accelerate Sound Agriculture’s launch of its new multi-faceted platform.

“Embracing modern approaches to plant science is a critical step to ensure the well-being of our food system and planet,” said Martin. “I have spent my career helping transformative new technologies flourish and I am excited to work closely with the team at Sound to advance innovation in a way that can benefit both people and the planet.”

– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.