EDBI joins $89m round for US agtech player Inari
EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, has joined an $89 million Series C round for US agricultural technology developer Inari.
Investment Corporation of Dubai, Acre Venture Partners, and agtech specialist Flagship Pioneering also participated. It brings the start-up’s total funding to date to $144 million. The capital will be used to advance the commercial introduction of high-performance corn and soybean seeds.
“Their cutting-edge technology in gene editing for a variety of common agricultural crops could yield high-productivity crops in Singapore, across Asia and worldwide,” Chu Swee Yeok, CEO and president of EDBI, said in a statement. “EDBI looks forward to helping Inari harness their technology to capture opportunities in Asia.”
Investment interest in food innovation has increased rapidly in recent months with rising concerns around food safety and environmentalism, as well as consumer trends related to health consciousness. Recent activity at the convergence of farming and biotechnology includes a $30 million commitment to a partnership between a Chinese regional government and Origin Agritech that will commercialize genetically modified corn seeds.
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