Munich, Germany \u2014 Munich-based FarmIn\u00adsect, a company specia\u00adli\u00adzing in insect produc\u00adtion, has announ\u00adced the closing of an over\u00adsub\u00adscri\u00adbed \u20ac8 million Series A finan\u00adcing round. The round was led by Oslo-based Clima\u00adte\u00adTech venture capi\u00adtal firm Sand\u00adwa\u00adter with parti\u00adci\u00adpa\u00adtion from the Bayern Kapi\u00adtal-mana\u00adged Growth Fund, the Minderoo Foun\u00adda\u00adti\u00adon\u2019s Stra\u00adte\u00adgic Impact Fund, and the Euro\u00adpean Inno\u00adva\u00adtion Coun\u00adcil\u2019s EIC Fund. Other parti\u00adci\u00adpants were the previous inves\u00adtors HTGF and Unter\u00adneh\u00admer\u00adTUM Funding for Innovators.<\/p>\n
A large part of the CO2 emis\u00adsi\u00adons gene\u00adra\u00adted in agri\u00adcul\u00adture is due to the produc\u00adtion and global trans\u00adport of protein-rich feed\u00ads\u00adtuffs such as soy and fish meal. In the process, the culti\u00adva\u00adtion of soybe\u00adans, which are often used in live\u00adstock and pet food, is accom\u00adpa\u00adnied by exten\u00adsive land clea\u00adring, often through defo\u00adre\u00adsta\u00adtion. The produc\u00adtion of fish\u00admeal invol\u00adves energy-inten\u00adsive proces\u00adsing and further over\u00adfi\u00adshing of wild fish stocks.<\/p>\n
Small insect, big effect<\/strong><\/p>\n FarmIn\u00adsect GmbH, foun\u00added in 2020, offers a more sustainable alter\u00adna\u00adtive protein source for animal feed \u2014 namely the larvae of the black soldier fly. Unlike most other compa\u00adnies invol\u00adved in insect farming that build mega-facto\u00adries for their purpo\u00adses, FarmIn\u00adsect focu\u00adses on decen\u00adtra\u00adli\u00adzed produc\u00adtion to make the most of previously unused energy and locally available resi\u00addues for insect fattening, putting these solu\u00adti\u00adons directly in the hands of farmers.<\/p>\n With this in mind, FarmIn\u00adsect has deve\u00adlo\u00adped a complete solu\u00adtion that allows custo\u00admers to set up modu\u00adlar insect masting systems on-site at their own farms. FarmIn\u00adsect supplies its custo\u00admers weekly with young larvae that are fattened on site with regio\u00adnal resi\u00addues such as shells or crop resi\u00addues, thus incre\u00adasing their body weight by more than 250 times within one week. This mate\u00adrial cycle means that high-quality, high-protein feed is produ\u00adced directly on site at the farm, all at lower cost, with lower CO2 emis\u00adsi\u00adons and comple\u00adtely inde\u00adpen\u00addent of global supply chains.<\/p>\n FarmIn\u00adsec\u00adt\u2019s fattening faci\u00adli\u00adties also produce compost as a bypro\u00adduct, which can be sold as a high-quality ferti\u00adli\u00adzer or used to produce biogas. Over\u00adall, FarmIn\u00adsect solu\u00adti\u00adons can help farmers reduce their feed costs by up to 30%. Each process step is moni\u00adto\u00adred via a dedi\u00adca\u00adted FarmIn\u00adsect soft\u00adware plat\u00adform that guides custo\u00admers step-by-step through production.<\/p>\n Fresh capi\u00adtal to expand market presence and conti\u00adnue rese\u00adarch and deve\u00adlo\u00adp\u00adment work<\/strong><\/p>\n FarmIn\u00adsect will use the capi\u00adtal from the finan\u00adcing round to commer\u00adci\u00adally scale up its insect bree\u00adding faci\u00adli\u00adties, as well as for rese\u00adarch and deve\u00adlo\u00adp\u00adment work to further improve its technology.<\/p>\n Thomas Kuehn, foun\u00adder and CEO of FarmIn\u00adsect, is plea\u00adsed with the addi\u00adtio\u00adnal funding and the exter\u00adnal vali\u00adda\u00adtion of his company\u2019s poten\u00adtial. \u201cWe are very grateful for the trust our inves\u00adtors have placed in us. Toge\u00adther, we will pursue our ambi\u00adtious goal of making insects the prefer\u00adred protein source in the EU ahead of soy and fish meal. As a next step, we intend to inten\u00adsify our rese\u00adarch and deve\u00adlo\u00adp\u00adment efforts to signi\u00adfi\u00adcantly expand and improve current bree\u00adding lines.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe reco\u00adgni\u00adzed the econo\u00admic and ecolo\u00adgi\u00adcal poten\u00adtial of insects some time ago. Howe\u00adver, the previous busi\u00adness models, which require signi\u00adfi\u00adcant invest\u00adments and are diffi\u00adcult to scale, have given us a bell\u00adya\u00adche. What we lacked was a commer\u00adci\u00adally available solu\u00adtion that requi\u00adred little invest\u00adment and was suita\u00adble for high produc\u00adtion volu\u00admes. FarmIn\u00adsect offers exactly this solu\u00adtion. We are abso\u00adlut\u00adely convin\u00adced that the company\u2019s foun\u00adders are capa\u00adble of scaling FarmIn\u00adsect and acce\u00adle\u00adra\u00adting the tran\u00adsi\u00adtion away from CO2-inten\u00adsive protein feed,\u201d explains Morten E. Iver\u00adsen, share\u00adhol\u00adder at Sandwater.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing was alre\u00adady clear to us when we first became invol\u00adved about two years ago: insect-based feeds are one of the most important pillars of sustainable and future-proof agri\u00adcul\u00adture. FarmIn\u00adsec\u00adt\u2019s expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced team has deve\u00adlo\u00adped the company in a very posi\u00adtive way, instal\u00adling the first equip\u00adment at custo\u00admer sites and opening a new produc\u00adtion site. We are extre\u00admely satis\u00adfied with the coope\u00adra\u00adtion so far and see great poten\u00adtial for the future,\u201d says Monika Steger, Mana\u00adging Direc\u00adtor at Bayern Kapital.<\/p>\n We were very impres\u00adsed with the foun\u00adders of FarmIn\u00adsect and their decen\u00adtra\u00adli\u00adzed busi\u00adness model with low invest\u00adment costs that has the poten\u00adtial to signi\u00adfi\u00adcantly increase insect produc\u00adtion in a sustainable way, provi\u00adding a scalable alter\u00adna\u00adtive protein source to fish\u00admeal. This is in line with the Minderoo Foun\u00adda\u00adti\u00adon\u2019s goals to protect and restore marine ecosys\u00adtems, inclu\u00adding by redu\u00adcing over\u00adfi\u00adshing of wild fish stocks,\u201d explains Cronje Wolvaardt, Direc\u00adtor of Impact Inves\u00adt\u00ading at the Minderoo Foundation.<\/p>\n About FarmIn\u00adsect<\/strong><\/p>\n Foun\u00added in 2020, FarmIn\u00adsect GmbH is a Munich-based company specia\u00adli\u00adzing in insect bree\u00adding systems. She was part of the foun\u00adding cohort of the Venture Lab Food-Agro-Biotech (FAB) at the Tech\u00adni\u00adcal Univer\u00adsity of Munich. FarmIn\u00adsect offers a complete modu\u00adlar solu\u00adtion for decen\u00adtra\u00adli\u00adzed on-site produc\u00adtion of insect larvae. Through a consis\u00adtent focus on inno\u00adva\u00adtion, FarmIn\u00adsect has deve\u00adlo\u00adped indus\u00adtry-leading insect bree\u00adding tech\u00adni\u00adques and gene\u00adtic strains with impro\u00adved adap\u00adta\u00adbi\u00adlity to locally available larval forage. FarmIn\u00adsect custo\u00admers can reduce their feed costs by up to 30%, better utilize orga\u00adnic waste in a mate\u00adrial loop, and gene\u00adrate addi\u00adtio\u00adnal reve\u00adnue streams from the resul\u00adting manure, from biogas, and from selling larvae to third-party processors. About Sand\u00adwa\u00adter<\/strong><\/p>\n Sand\u00adwa\u00adter (Oslo, Norway) promo\u00adtes compa\u00adnies that are leading the way in climate protec\u00adtion and impro\u00adving health\u00adcare systems world\u00adwide. Sand\u00adwa\u00adter typi\u00adcally invests in Euro\u00adpean compa\u00adnies in the late-seed to Series A finan\u00adcing rounds and has made twelve invest\u00adments to date from its current fund. As a thema\u00adtic inves\u00adtor with a commit\u00adment to social or envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal impact in its invest\u00adments, Sand\u00adwa\u00adter focu\u00adses on four core areas: resource effi\u00adci\u00adency, energy tran\u00adsi\u00adtion, impact enabler and health. About Bayern Kapital<\/strong><\/p>\n Bayern Kapi\u00adtal GmbH (Lands\u00adhut) is the venture capi\u00adtal and growth inves\u00adtor of the Free State of Bava\u00adria. It supports inno\u00adva\u00adtive high-tech compa\u00adnies in Bava\u00adria in their various growth phases, from the seed to the later-stage phase, with equity capi\u00adtal in the amount of 0.25 to 25 million euros. Since its foun\u00adda\u00adtion in 1995, Bayern Kapi\u00adtal GmbH has inves\u00adted around 450 million euros in appro\u00adxi\u00adm\u00adately 300 start-ups and scale-ups from sectors such as life scien\u00adces, soft\u00adware & IT, mate\u00adri\u00adals, nano\u00adtech\u00adno\u00adlogy and envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal technology. About the Minderoo Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n The Minderoo Foun\u00adda\u00adtion (Perth, Austra\u00adlia) confronts diffi\u00adcult issues and grand chal\u00adlenges with the goal of effec\u00adting profound change. Foun\u00added by Andrew and Nicola Forrest in 2001, the Minderoo Foun\u00adda\u00adtion is proud of its Austra\u00adlian back\u00adground. It is inde\u00adpen\u00addent and forward-looking, seeking effec\u00adtive, scalable solu\u00adti\u00adons. It seeks to dismantle the systems that promote inequa\u00adlity and inequity through coura\u00adge\u00adous, colla\u00adbo\u00adra\u00adtive, and selfless action. The Minderoo Foun\u00adda\u00adtion stands for coope\u00adra\u00adtion, commit\u00adment, inno\u00adva\u00adtion and enga\u00adge\u00adment to create a more just future. www.minderoo.org<\/p>\n About the Euro\u00adpean Inno\u00adva\u00adtion Coun\u00adcil (EIC)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Euro\u00adpean Inno\u00adva\u00adtion Coun\u00adcil (EIC) Fund, initia\u00adted by the Euro\u00adpean Commis\u00adsion, is used to make invest\u00adments in a wide range of tech\u00adno\u00adlo\u00adgies and sectors in all EU member states as well as in count\u00adries that have concluded an asso\u00adcia\u00adtion agree\u00adment with the EU to parti\u00adci\u00adpate in the EU\u2019s Hori\u00adzon Europe frame\u00adwork program. The primary purpose of the EIC Fund is to support compa\u00adnies in the deve\u00adlo\u00adp\u00adment and commer\u00adcia\u00adliza\u00adtion of disrup\u00adtive tech\u00adno\u00adlo\u00adgies to fill criti\u00adcal finan\u00adcing gaps and spread risks more broadly by buil\u00adding a large network of capi\u00adtal provi\u00adders and stra\u00adte\u00adgic part\u00adners suita\u00adble for co-invest\u00adment and follow-on financing. About Unter\u00adneh\u00admer\u00adTUM Funding for Innovators About High-Tech Gr\u00fcnderfonds Munich, Germany \u2014 Munich-based FarmIn\u00adsect, a company specia\u00adli\u00adzing in insect produc\u00adtion, has announ\u00adced the closing of an over\u00adsub\u00adscri\u00adbed \u20ac8 million Series A finan\u00adcing round. The round was led by Oslo-based Clima\u00adte\u00adTech venture capi\u00adtal firm Sand\u00adwa\u00adter with parti\u00adci\u00adpa\u00adtion from the Bayern Kapi\u00ad\u00adtal-mana\u00ad\u00adged Growth Fund, the Minderoo Foun\u00adda\u00adti\u00adon\u2019s Stra\u00adte\u00adgic Impact Fund, and the Euro\u00adpean Inno\u00adva\u00adtion Coun\u00adcil\u2019s EIC [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[886,1364,1366,1368,1369,1373],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-en","category-featured-en","category-news-en","category-lawyers-tax-consultants-auditors","category-investors","category-venture-capital-en"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nFor more infor\u00adma\u00adtion about FarmIn\u00adsect, visit farminsect.eu.<\/p>\n
\nsandwater.com\/<\/p>\n
\nbayernkapital.de<\/p>\n
\neic.ec.europa.eu\/eic-fund\/<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nUnter\u00adneh\u00admer\u00adTUM Funding for Inno\u00adva\u00adtors is the pre-seed funding initia\u00adtive of Unter\u00adneh\u00admer\u00adTUM, Euro\u00adpe\u2019s leading center for start-up and inno\u00adva\u00adtion. The initia\u00adtive supports outstan\u00adding B2B start\u00adups in the (deep) tech sector in their early stages with the requi\u00adred capi\u00adtal and strong network from the Unter\u00adneh\u00admer\u00adTUM ecosys\u00adtem. Offe\u00adrings include grants for proto\u00adtype deve\u00adlo\u00adp\u00adment, startup-friendly conver\u00adti\u00adble bonds, and follow-on finan\u00adcing. The primary focus is to iden\u00adtify breakth\u00adrough tech\u00adno\u00adlo\u00adgies and excep\u00adtio\u00adnal teams that have the poten\u00adtial for venture capi\u00adtal invest\u00adment. funding.entrepreneurship.com<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nThe seed inves\u00adtor High-Tech Gr\u00fcn\u00adder\u00adfonds (HTGF) finan\u00adces tech\u00adno\u00adlogy start-ups with growth poten\u00adtial and has supported more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of the fourth fund, HTGF has around 1.4 billion euros under manage\u00adment. The team of expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced invest\u00adment mana\u00adgers and start-up experts supports the young compa\u00adnies with know-how, entre\u00adpre\u00adneu\u00adrial spirit and passion. The focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digi\u00adtal tech, indus\u00adtrial tech, life scien\u00adces, chemis\u00adtry and rela\u00adted busi\u00adness areas. To date, exter\u00adnal inves\u00adtors have inves\u00adted around EUR 5 billion in the HTGF port\u00adfo\u00adlio in more than 2,000 follow-on finan\u00adcing rounds. In addi\u00adtion, the fund has alre\u00adady successfully sold shares in more than 170 companies.
\nFund inves\u00adtors in the public-private part\u00adner\u00adship include the German Fede\u00adral Minis\u00adtry for Econo\u00admic Affairs and Climate Protec\u00adtion, KfW Capi\u00adtal, and 45 compa\u00adnies from a wide range of industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"