Spanish VC fund Ship2B Ventures continues to expand its portfolio of startups by successfully closing a €6M investment round with FA Bio, a British biochemical startup that is transforming sustainable agriculture in Europe.
The fund has invested in the agri-food sector three times.
FA Bio (formerly known as FungiAlert), is led by co-founder and CEO Angela de Manzanos Guinot.
The company is bringing innovation to agriculture by discovering microbes capable of increasing crop yields, protecting biodiversity, and reducing the use of chemicals. With this, the company is succeeding in reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions from this sector.
Ship2B Ventures, which manages the €55 million BSocial Impact Fund, led the investment with two other European venture capital funds: Clean Growth Fund (UK) and Pymwymic (Netherlands).
Existing shareholders and new private investors also participated in the €6 million round.
The investment by Clean Growth Fund, Pymwymic, and Ship2B Ventures will support the commercialization of FA Bio’s technology, and the company’s ongoing research and fund the expansion of its team.
Jaime de Antonio, investment manager of Ship2B Ventures, said of this investment, “Ship2B Ventures’ mission is to support bold entrepreneurs who are solving the most pressing problems facing humanity. We are therefore delighted to support Angela and Kerry’s aim to transform the agri-food industry for the better. We sincerely believe that FA Bio’s developments will protect a damaged greenhouse gas sink, the earth.”
Spain and the UK lead the agrotech industry in Europe. The Spanish VC’s bid seeks to leverage FA Bio’s promising developments for regional and global agriculture, serving as a bridge to expand and scale its vision of protecting natural ecosystems by identifying bio-products that improve soil health and help increase crop production.
The startup is working on the discovery and development of superior microbial bioproducts, such as biocontrols, biostimulants, and biofertilizers, that can be used in agriculture as substitutes for chemicals through its proprietary SporSenZ technology, a unique targeted microbial sampling strategy employed to collect microbial data and strains in agricultural fields.
