Vestaron, a US-based agricultural company commercialising biopesticides developed from spider venom, has extended its series C round by $4m to $14m, securing the funding from venture capital firm Anterra Capital.
Anterra, formerly known as Rabo Ventures, was spun out from Netherlands-based bank Rabobank in October 2013. It is jointly funded by Moonray Investors, a subsidiary of FIL, the parent company of mutual fund manager Fidelity Worldwide Investment, and Rabo Private Equity, Rabobank’s proprietary private equity arm.
Vestaron secured an initial $10m in series C funding in August from corporate-backed VC firm Pangaea Ventures; Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, an agricultural technology partnership between VC firms Cultivian Ventures and Sandbox Ventures; Southwest Michigan First Life Science Venture Fund; and Michigan Accelerator Fund.
Philip Austin, partner at Anterra Capital, said: “The commercialisation of their first product is proving that natural peptides can be a valuable source of novel insecticides providing farmers with a crop protection tool that has the power of chemicals with the safety profile of biologicals.”
In May 2012, Vestaron raised $10.2m from a series B preferred stock financing from existing and new investors including Pangaea Ventures, Michigan Accelerator Fund, and two private investment organisations. It has raised approximately $37m in total, according to press releases and SEC filings.
– Photo courtesy of Vestaron Corporation