Radicle Growth Invests $250k in WeedOUT to Fuel Eco-Friendly Solution to Resistant Weeds

Radicle Growth, an acceleration platform for early-stage ag and food technologies, announced that it has awarded WeedOUT $250,000 as the winner of the Radicle Challenge Israel. Radicle teamed up with OurCrowd and Start-Up Nation Central on this Challenge to find the most promising agtech/foodtech startup in Israel, a market showing significant growth and promise for agtech innovation.
 

Dedicated to solving the issue of weed resistance, WeedOUT, the revolutionary green bioherbicide solution to block the spreading of weeds’ reproduction mechanisms, was selected as the winner of the Radicle Challenge Israel for their proprietary weed pollen that artificially pollinates weeds in order to induce seed abortion and prevent germination. This in turn will prevent the growth of the next generation of weeds. WeedOUT’s bioherbicide negates the need for higher chemical doses of synthetic chemicals to handle resistant weeds that no longer respond to standard chemical treatments.
 

“Weed resistance is a major threat to global food security and sustainability. Weeds continue to develop resistance and no longer respond to existing chemical herbicides,” said Efrat Lidor Nili, Co-CEO and Founder, WeedOUT. “The funding and collaboration with Radicle Growth provides us a huge opportunity to continue our mission to combat this issue that causes more than $40billion in global losses annually. We are honored to have been chosen as the winner of the Radicle Challenge Israel amidst a pool of strong agtech and foodtech innovators from across Israel.”
 

WeedOUT being named the winner of the Radicle Challenge Israel follows the company being chosen as the Best Israeli Agtech Company in the 2018 AgriVest Competition. In addition to the funding from Radicle, WeedOUT will benefit from a custom acceleration program with access to Radicle’s venture partners, strategic alliances and acceleration program to expedite the development of its technology and manufacturing processes.
 

“The cost of managing resistant weeds is expected to top $6.5billion in 2020. This is an issue plaguing 65% of crop growers’ fields in the U.S. alone. WeedOUT’s ability to combat this epidemic with a solution that is cost effective, non-toxic and non-invasive to the crop itself makes it transformative,” said Kirk Haney, CEO and Managing Partner of Radicle Growth. “We look forward to working alongside WeedOUT on product development, manufacturing and building on the success of the field trials to put WeedOUT on the fast-track to success and we thank OurCrowd and Start-Up Nation Central for playing a critical role in making this Challenge a success and helping to select the winner.”