Crop Enhancement secures $8.5M in series B funding

Crop Enhancement Inc., an innovator of sustainable chemistry formulations for agriculture applications, has closed $8.5 million in a Series B financing. MLS Capital Fund II (co-managed by Spruce Capital Partners and Xeraya Capital) and 1955 Capital co-led the round, with additional financing from Bandgap Ventures. Original investor Phoenix Venture Partners also participated. As part of the transaction, Greg Young from Spruce Capital Partners and Andrew Chung from 1955 Capital joined Crop Enhancement’s board of directors.

The Series B funding from prominent AgTech investors represents expert validation of Crop Enhancement’s technology, and enables the company to accelerate development and commercialization of its sustainable agrochemical products that prevent crop loss due to biotic stress and deliver precise doses of agricultural active ingredients.

The announcement was made at the Ag Innovation Showcase, where Crop Enhancement is among the companies selected to present from among more than 100 applicants.

Founded in 2011 by David Soane, Ph.D., a serial entrepreneur and inventor in the field of materials science and surface chemistry, Crop Enhancement is commercializing an innovative set of environmentally friendly chemistry formulations that enable growers around the world to sustainably increase crop yields.

Crop Enhancement’s products target annual crop values in excess of $60 billion worldwide across regions that include North America, Southeast Asia, Greater China, Latin America, and Africa. In order to boost crop yields in these regions, Crop Enhancement has developed proprietary films and formulations that modify plant surfaces (leaves, stems, fruit, and seeds) to improve their resistance to pests and diseases and decrease the need for harmful pesticides. Crop Enhancement’s formulations can also be applied to agricultural inputs like nutrients, fertilizers and other active ingredients, enabling the farmer to precisely control their release, thereby reducing costs and increasing yield.

“This Series B funding is an important milestone for us: we are now well positioned to ramp up development and commercial efforts to capture sizable market opportunities,” said Kevin Chen, Ph.D., CEO of Crop Enhancement. “We are currently field-trialing our products globally, and actively seeking market-entry and distribution partners to introduce us to growers of high-value permanent crops.”

Greg Young, managing partner at Spruce Capital Partners, sees Crop Enhancement addressing a crucial need for precision farming in large international markets. “Crop Enhancement offers an innovative and eco-friendly approach to farming that has applications in many crops around the world — particularly in Southeast Asia. We are very pleased to provide the financial and technical lift to accelerate the commercialization of this important technology, which will help growers boost crop yields through sustainable farming.”

“Crop Enhancement is a great example of a company that can address two key challenges in the developing world: increasing food production and fostering the development of sustainable agricultural practices,” said Andrew Chung, founder and managing partner at 1955 Capital. “We’re eager to help introduce Crop Enhancement’s technologies to growers and key partners in Greater China.”

About Crop Enhancement

Crop Enhancement is a venture-backed agriculture technology corporation based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded by renowned materials scientist and serial entrepreneur Dr. David Soane, Crop Enhancement is developing sustainable agrochemical formulations that employ advanced and environmentally friendly chemistry to improve crop yields, eliminate or minimize pesticide use, and enable precise and effective delivery of active ingredients and fertilizers.