US-based crop nutrition technology developer Pivot Bio completed a $100m series C round yesterday featuring industrial conglomerate Tekfen and commodity trading firms Bunge and Continental Grain.
Energy technology investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Singaporean state-owned firm Temasek co-led the round, which included DCVC, Prelude Ventures, Spruce Capital Partners, Codon Capital, Pavilion Capital and private investors Alan Cohen and Roger Underwood.
Tefken and Bunge participated in the round through corporate venturing subsidiaries Tekfen Ventures and Bunge Ventures, and it increased the company’s overall funding to more than $186m.
Pivot Bio’s product, Proven, consists of microbes that are applied to the roots of corn crops during planting. The microbes then form a symbiotic relationship with the plant, producing nitrogen and delivering it to the roots.
Nitrogen is a crucial part of growing corn, but farmers currently have to rely on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. Pivot Bio claims Proven drastically reduces greenhouse emissions, water pollution and energy use while delivering more consistent yields.
The company is also working on a similar product called Return for use with wheat crops, and launched it through a limited pilot scheme earlier this year. The series C funds will drive its entry into Argentina and Canada.
Pivot Bio secured $750,000 in a 2014 seed round co-led by DCVC and Monsanto Growth Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of agribusiness Monsanto since acquired by life sciences group Bayer.
DCVC returned to lead a $16m series A round for the company in 2016 that included Prelude Ventures and Spruce Capital Partners, before BEV led a $70m series B round in late 2018 that included Temasek.
