GeneNeer secures $1 million in seed funding to revolutionize crop seed innovation

GeneNeer Ltd. announced it has successfully closed a US$1 million seed round to support the acceleration of its technology for rapid crop seed innovation. The company’s breakthrough method leverages its proprietary Superlines and tissue-specific silencing capabilities to improve the current precision, speed and safety of advanced breeding technologies. In a league of its own, GeneNeer is positioned to democratize crop seed innovation, fostering more rapid, localized solutions to impacts of climate change, and to accelerate the development of healthier, more functional natural food sources.

The funding round was led by Tall Grass Ventures, an early-stage Agrifood Tech venture firm based in Canada, and 2b AHEAD Ventures, a repeat investor from Germany. The funds will be used to expand the company’s research and development into its methods for enhancing gene editing and gene discovery. While the company’s first focus is on the potato market, further development in other key crops is being actively pursued through strategic partnerships.

GeneNeer's R&D Team with multiple varieties of potato plants, to be enhanced using the company’s proprietary Superlines.

Chris Edwards, Managing Partner at Tall Grass Ventures, said ″We believe GeneNeer is at the forefront of gene-editing in crop development through their novel and proprietary Superline technology. With this technology, they have developed a multi-faceted platform, which we believe mitigates many of the business risks inherent in biotechnology and deep science-based startups. This approach not only enhances stability, but also aligns with the nimbleness and adaptability required to lead an emerging field.

″GeneNeer’s commitment to success is further reinforced by the exceptional quality of their team. With a deep mix of technical competency, skill and business acumen, the team is well positioned to successfully execute against their vision and have a significant role in increasing the resilience and adaptability of global agriculture,″ added Edwards.

The investment is the climax of a successful year, marked by multiple successful proof of concept trials, a paid collaboration with a Tier-1 company; participation in the prestigious StartLife program for promising agritech start-ups; the registration of a second patent application; and significant strides in its research and development activities. As a result, the company doubled its valuation in 2023.

GeneNeer is positioned to democratize crop seed innovation, fostering more rapid, localized solutions to impacts of climate change, and to accelerate the development of healthier, more functional natural food sources.

Kinneret Shefer PhD, CEO and Co-founder of GeneNeer said, ″The addition of Tall Grass Ventures and return investment of 2b AHEAD Ventures provide GeneNeer with outstanding support from seasoned, savvy and visionary investors and mentors. Their involvement will be instrumental in GeneNeer’s ability to achieve its ambitious business plans.″

Sven Gabor Janszky, CEO of 2b AHEAD Ventures and Chairman of Europe’s largest Future Science Institute 2b AHEAD said, ″We are proud to continuously support GeneNeer’s progress to solve one of the world’s biggest challenges: to provide food security for up to 11 billion people on Earth in times of global warming. Even for us, with a portfolio of 30+ deeptech investments worldwide – from Nuclear Fusion to Quantum Computing – GeneNeer is outstanding in its product vision and the excellence of its technological platform.″