Israeli tech start-up Equinom has raised $20 million in Series C funding, as it looks to develop novel seed-based ingredients for sustainable, nutritious food.
The round was led by The Phoenix, with participation from Trendlines, Maverick and existing investors Fortissimo Capital and BASF Venture Capital.
Equinom uses AI-driven technology to naturally breed and grow ‘superior’ seed varieties for food and ingredient firms, in an effort to provide more affordable and nutritious plant protein.
Founded in 2012, Equinom now has over 100,000 acres grown across five continents and works with partners (including the likes of PepsiCo-owned Sabra, Roquette and Dipasa) to custom-design ingredients and enable local sourcing. Most recently, the company announced a collaboration with GoodMills to create a unique yellow pea variant.
Equinom says it will use the capital to continue to expand its global operations in sales, marketing and research and development. Later this year, the firm plans to release its first batch of Smarter Pea Protein concentrate to the market, which it claims will be the highest pea protein concentrate available in the world.
“With this capital vote of trust from investors, we now have the ability to unleash our products in the market and become a global leader in the agtech space,” said Gil Shalev, founder and CEO of Equinom.
He added: “Leveraging our cutting-edge seed-to-plate food-application technology to create source ingredients, Equinom helps market-leading food brands turn regular food into super food. Similar to how consumers use Google, we anticipate they will use Equinom’s AI database to match their needs with non-GMO ingredients that have never been explored before.”
Elad Givoni, head of private equity at The Phoenix, added: “Equinom is uniquely positioned in the agtech space as a major player who can impact the future of food.
“Through its proprietary technology, distinct methodology and unique genomic database, Equinom is able to create a wide range of products for a broad spectrum of commercial food applications, while ensuring that the products can be quickly adapted to rapidly changing market needs.”
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