Agrivida, a US-based developer of biotechnology for agricultural and industrial processing that has previously been backed by agribusiness Syngenta, has raised $12m in its series D round.
Cultivian Sandbox Ventures led the round, which featured an unnamed affiliate of chicken and pork producer Maschhoff Family Foods, as well as Middleland Capital, Sontag Family Trust, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Dag Ventures, Bright Capital Partners, Gentry Venture Partners, Northgate Capital and PrairieGold Venture Partners.
Agrivida previously secured $15m in a 2012 series C round featuring Presidio Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of conglomerate Sumitomo, and Syngenta Ventures, Syngenta’s corporate venturing arm.
The series C was led by Bright Capital and also included KPCB, DAG, Prairie Gold, Gentry, Northgate and Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
The company received an undisclosed amount from Presidio, Dag, Northgate, PrairieGold, KPCB and IncTank in a 2009 series B round, after raising $600,000 in a 2006 series A.
Syngenta first obtained a stake in Agrivida in 2010 when it licensed some of its technology to the company.
Agrivida’s technology produces enyzmes for animal nutrition and health, and for energy and consumer industries such as biofuel. It will use the funding to support development and commercialisation.