Foodtech startup Equinom raises $35 million
Foodtech startup Equinom raises $35 million
The Israeli company breeds non-GMO varieties of the plant-based food industry’s primary source crops including pea and soy, optimized specifically for food
Equinom, which develops non-GMO crops optimized for food with minimal processing, announced on Monday that it has raised $35 million in funding. The capital raise was led by Synthesis Capital (Synthesis), a leading global food technology and alternative protein investor, with additional investment from Praesidium, Bunge Ventures, the for-profit global investment arm of Bunge, BayWa, CPT Capital and returning investors Fortissimo and Phoenix. This brings the total funding for Equinom to over $71 million to date.
Equinom will use this new capital to accelerate the commercialization of its plant-based protein ingredients which will be sold to food companies via established multinational ingredient suppliers. The capital will also fund investments in seed development and grain production of their ultra-high protein varieties of non-GMO soy and pea, along with the addition of key personnel and research and development into ongoing breeding programs for additional protein source crops including chickpea, fava, mung bean, and cowpea.
"This funding round was not simple, but we managed to bring in a leading investor despite the volatility in the market and the big hit our sector has suffered,” Gil Shalev, Equinom co-founder and CEO, told Calcalist. “I believe the investors chose us because they saw the value that we can provide over the long run.”
Equinom, which employs 51 people in total, including 39 in its R&D center in Kibbutz Givat Brenner, breeds new non-GMO varieties of the plant-based food industry’s primary source crops including pea and soy, optimized specifically for food, so they require only minimal processing, thereby improving taste and nutrition and reducing cost and complexity.
