CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Invaio
Sciences, Inc., a Flagship Pioneering company focused on unlocking
the potential of the planet's interdependent natural systems to
solve pressing agriculture, nutrition and environmental challenges,
today announced the closing of a Series C financing round totaling
$88.9 million. Joining founder and
principal backer Flagship Pioneering is Stage 1 Ventures, Bluwave
Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and others. With this
financing, Invaio has raised more than $142
million since its founding in 2018.
"Our ambition is to build the most impactful and valuable crop
health company on the planet," said Ignacio
Martinez, Co-Founder and CEO of Invaio. "The world is
changing quickly, and food production practices must adapt to keep
pace with evolving consumer demands, changing environmental
conditions and increased stress on ecological resources."
"This commitment by new and existing investors enables Invaio to
accelerate the expansion of our integrated technology platforms
that will solve performance and delivery challenges facing the
agriculture industry. Our approach to reducing the use of
fertilizers and chemicals will revolutionize the industry and guide
the production of food to biological practices in less than a
decade," explained Martinez.
Teeming with pioneering technologies, extraordinary talent, and
an insurgent mindset, Invaio Sciences has focused research and
development in large addressable perennial, row crop and vegetable
marketplaces. With this most recent financing, Invaio will continue
to delve deep into diverse areas of discovery including tree
nutritional health, insect management, vector and disease control,
transformative herbicides and fungicides replacements, advanced
seed technologies, carbon cycling, and more.
"This is an exciting time to be in agricultural science. Within
the next decade, a new playbook for producing food will evolve and
take root, and Invaio is at the forefront of this discovery,
actively contributing to developing the model for agricultural
production of the future," said Gerardo
Ramos, Chief Science Officer, Invaio Sciences. "At Invaio,
we take a systems approach: controlling the disease with minimal
environmental impact by reducing the use of pesticides by more than
90 percent and increasing carbon capture while improving the health
of the system as a whole. This is just the beginning."
Already addressing some of the biggest concerns plaguing crop
health throughout the planet, Invaio Sciences is gaining a foothold
within perennial production. Resources from the Series C capital
raise will immediately be used to roll out solutions for problems
including HLB in the citrus industry, Xylella in Olive production,
and to institute more refined practices in managing vineyards and
orchards. Invaio is also advancing a new carbon offering for
perennial producers and is working with the USDA to bolster the
vitality of beehives through ensuring pollinator health and the
longevity of flowering real food trees in the future.
"Invaio is transitioning from an R&D-focused organization to
a fully commercial enterprise," commented Peleg Chevion, President and Chief Commercial
Officer of Invaio. "We're building an economically attractive
approach to institute sustainable agriculture at scale for diverse
growers around the world."
Chevion continued, "We are deeply committed to delivering the
right solutions for producers now, as well as taking a generational
view of their operations and the entire value chain. Our use of
precision delivery offers a cleaner, safer and more mindful
approach to manage the need for healthier crops and more nutritious
and efficient food production in the future."
About Invaio Sciences:
Invaio Sciences is a
multi-platform technology company that unlocks the potential of the
planet's interdependent systems to address pressing agricultural,
nutritional, and environmental challenges. Founded by Flagship
Pioneering in 2018, Invaio leverages discoveries from diverse
fields including human therapeutics, agriculture, environmental
science, and advanced manufacturing. The company's deep
understanding of the physiology of insects, plants and trees,
together with its novel integrated solutions approach, promises to
refine agricultural practices and reduce the need for pesticides
globally. Invaio Sciences is dedicated to developing solutions that
are mindful of beneficial insects, bad for pests, and safer for us
all. For more information, please visit www.invaio.com
About Flagship Pioneering:
Flagship Pioneering
conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category life
science platform companies to transform human health and
sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, the firm has, through its
Flagship Labs unit, applied its unique hypothesis-driven innovation
process to originate and foster more than 100 scientific ventures,
resulting in over $80 billion in
aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $2.3 billion in capital toward the founding and
growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $19 billion of follow-on investments from other
institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 41
transformative companies, including Axcella Health
(NASDAQ: AXLA), Codiak BioSciences (NASDAQ: CDAK) Denali
Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Evelo Biosciences
(NASDAQ: EVLO), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX),
Indigo Ag, Inari Agriculture,
Kaleido Biosciences (NASDAQ: KLDO), Moderna
(NASDAQ: MRNA), Rubius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RUBY), Sana
Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics
(NASDAQ: MCRB), and Sigilon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGTX).
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SOURCE Invaio Sciences