Puna Bio develops biological inputs based on extremophiles isolated from La Puna to enhance nutrient uptake, stress tolerance and crop quality. Its non-GMO seed treatments aim to boost yields, reduce fertilizer use and enable cultivation on degraded soils. The company currently commercializes two products—Kunza (soybeans, cotton, beans) and Kanzama (wheat, barley)—deployed on over 800,000 acres in three commercial seasons. Puna Bio received initial funding in 2022 led by At One Ventures, which enabled establishment of its first laboratory and core team. The recent investment led by Corteva Catalyst will support deeper innovation and development of new products. Puna Bio plans to expand its business into the United States, Brazil, and Paraguay and has made progress on regulatory approvals and commercialization in those markets. Puna Bio builds a library of extremophile bacteria, archaea, fungi and yeasts and sells patented methods for cultivating, combining and applying those strains to seed stock. The company isolates organisms from extreme environments (e.g., high-altitude Andes, Great Salt Lake) under bioprospection partnerships and Nagoya Protocol agreements with host institutions. Their products are designed to work with farmers' existing seed‑treatment workflows and to act near plant roots without displacing native soil microbiomes, with some trials showing synergies with common beneficial microbes. Puna emphasizes using naturally high-performing organisms rather than genetically modifying microbes, claiming amplified nutrient‑uptake activity from gene copy number or novel biosynthetic pathways. The team includes co‑founders Franco Martínez Levis (CEO) and Elisa Violeta Bertini — the latter with extensive extremophile field experience and more than 150 published papers — plus Carolina Belfiore and María Eugenia Farías. Financially, the company recently closed a $3.7 million seed round to fund product launches, R&D and new facilities.

Total raised

$4M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Sep 2022