Micropep, an ag-biotech company developing biological micropeptide-based solutions for agriculture, has announced the completion of a €8.75 million Series A1 financing round.
Fall Line Capital led the Series A1, less than a year after the Series A, in addition to existing investors, Supernova Invest, Sofinnova Partners, FMC Ventures and IRDI/SORIDEC.
Eric O'Brien, co-founder and Managing Partner of Fall Line Capital said: ‘Micropep has developed a truly novel technology platform in ag-biotech that promises to bring farmers highly effective new and environmentally safe crop protection solutions. We have been impressed by the broad potential of Micropep’s micropeptide discovery platform and by the vision of its leadership team. We are eager to provide our expertise to support the company and its expansion in the US.
Based in Toulouse, France’s centre for AgTech development, Micropep has developed a unique technological platform that makes it possible to precisely regulate a plant’s gene expression, without altering its DNA, by the exogenous application of micropeptides, a family of proteins naturally produced by plants to respond to stress and regulate their development.
The new round of financing will fuel Micropep’s expansion to the United States, making US-based venture fund, Fall Line Capital, a perfect partner. Fall Line Capital is known for its commitment to sustainable agriculture through its strategic investments in both US farmland and innovative AgTech companies. This renowned fund brings added value to Micropep’s evolution, thanks to its expertise in the technological field and concrete knowledge of agronomic issues.
This new investment also marks the first step towards the commercialisation of Micropep’s products. Micropep is using this funding to accelerate the development phase of its first micropeptide candidates in the United States and will build a locally-recruited team to deploy its solutions.
‘We are extremely happy to welcome Fall Line Capital onboard. Their unparalleled experience in both farm and tech investments will help accelerate the development of our first micropeptide candidates for the US market. Like everywhere else in the world, US farmers will need all the tools they can access to continue to control resistant weeds and pathogens while mitigating the effects of climate change on their crops. Micropep is building for them a revolutionary toolbox of micropeptide- based solutions to first control resistant weeds and diseases. Our unique approach could open new frontiers in crop protection the same way RNA technology did with vaccines.’ said Thomas Laurent, co-founder and CEO of Micropep.
