Nanoliquid company Aqua-Yield announces $23 million Series A funding round

Date:09-15-2022

Aqua-Yield, the leading nanoliquid company for agricultural production worldwide, announced the close of its Series A investment round of $23M. The round was led by the Larry H. Miller Company (the LHM Company) with participation from Penny Newman Grain Company and San Leonardo. The company will leverage the funding to accelerate the global adoption of its nanoliquid solutions.

Aqua-Yield offers a technology unlike anything else in the market, having created its own segment in the world of crop inputs. The company's award-winning nanoliquid solutions leverage sophisticated nanoparticles to make liquid agricultural products more effective at plant absorption and dramatically increase crop-yield and profits for farmers while enhancing the sustainability of the soil.

"Since 2014, the Aqua-Yield team has developed a robust patent platform. We sustainably grow profits by solving plant absorption problems and have helped thousands of growers reduce their synthetic fertilizer and crop protection inputs by 25-50 percent," said Clark T. Bell, Aqua-Yield CEO and co-founder. "The patented nano-based technology acts as a catalyst to traditional liquid agricultural fertilizers and crop protection products. This tech works with all traditional ag inputs by enhancing plant absorption of nutrients and efficacy of crop protectants. With our suite of 16 commercially available products we have an answer for nearly every crop."

"Since the beginning of the global pandemic our company has doubled in size year-over-year," added Clark. "Nanoliquid technology enables growers to stretch their ag inputs. This has been key to growth as the agribusiness industry faces supply chain struggles, product availability, and the current environmental strains that will continue to play a key role in the future."

The company's solutions work for farms of all sizes and in all regions of the United States, and is currently used on four million acres of farms, and in more than nine countries. Between 2014 and 2021, the company conducted more than 750 field trials that resulted in an average 3:1 return on investment for growers. Since 2014, Aqua-Yield's solution has reduced farmers' use of micronutrients by up to 80 percent and use of macronutrients by up to 50 percent by minimizing fertilizer and chemical applications and increasing nutrient uptake, germination rates, crop yields, and growth cycles.

"Aqua-Yield makes synthetic fertilizers and chemicals more efficient, increasing nutrient uptake and decreasing synthetic fertilizer use, resulting in more environmentally efficient and profitable farms," said David Smith, the LHM Company's chief strategy officer. "Stewardship is a core value at the Larry H. Miller Company, and we see this investment as an opportunity to improve methods that feed our planet in a more sustainable and responsible manner."

"As an original investor in Aqua-Yield, I've been impressed with how the executive team has bootstrapped and grown the company in an holistic way," said Fraser Bullock, founding partner and member of  the board of Aqua-Yield. "The capital from our Series A will allow us to expand our commercial team globally and establish a strategic international footprint."

In addition, Aqua-Yield will announce additional follow-on capital from a leading agriculture investor in the Fourth Quarter of 2022.