The Venture Codex

Participated · Series B · Jun 2022

BioLumic's core product is its Light Signal Platform and proprietary UV treatment systems, which use short-duration UV exposures and data-driven Light Signal Recipes to influence plant biology and genetics without chemicals or genetic engineering. The platform is applied to both seedlings and seeds and is designed to improve crop consistency, increase yield and strengthen disease resistance. The company intends to commercialize the technology across crops including cannabis, soybean, corn, canola and strawberry, and to deepen relationships with cultivation leaders and technology partners in cannabis. BioLumic plans to expand its library of Light Signal Recipes and advance a new generation of recipes focused on photosynthetic and nutrient use efficiency. Financially, BioLumic completed a $13.5M Series B to accelerate commercial growth for its patented technology. The company was founded in 2013 and is led by CEO Steve Sibulkin, with offices in the United States and New Zealand. BioLumic develops a patented ultraviolet (UV) crop-yield enhancement system rooted in research into UV photomorphogenesis. Its seed-focused technology precisely applies UV light treatments to seedlings (initially lettuce, broccoli, strawberry and tomato) to induce root and leaf development and activate secondary metabolism for long-term crop benefits. The company reports commercial use with large-scale produce growers and processors in California and Mexico and yield gains of up to 22 percent; commercial trials are also under way in Spain and the U.K. BioLumic intends to use new funding to accelerate research and commercialization and to expand into row crop and vegetable seeds in the years ahead. It plans to grow its team in New Zealand and at a new U.S. office in California and to intensify global deployment of its UV technologies. The company was spun out of AgTech research at Massey University by Dr. Jason Wargent and is led by CEO Warren Bebb.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2021

Cellibre is a manufacturing technology company that employs an organism-agnostic approach to turn cells into specialized, sustainable factories for the manufacture of globally significant products at scale. Its initial strategic focus is changing how natural, plant-based compounds are manufactured, targeting high-value natural products and bioactives to displace agricultural production. The company highlights industrial uses of natural products—including monomers that can be used to produce thermosetting resins, certain polymers, and energetics—and aims to enable domestic chemical production. Cellibre states its technologies achieve lower cost and higher quality than legacy production methods to improve supply‑chain resilience for customers and government partners. The recent $1.5 million Department of Defense award under the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP) is intended to prepare commercialization of its manufacturing technologies to bolster domestic supply chains. Cellibre was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Cellibre is a San Diego, CA-based sustainable manufacturing technology company founded in 2017 that employs an organism-agnostic approach to turn cells into specialized, sustainable factories. The company’s platform is designed to manufacture globally significant products at scale, with an initial strategic focus on enabling the production of pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoids. Cellibre is led by founder and CEO Ben Chiarelli and founder and chief scientific officer Dr. Nicky Caiazza. In October 2021 the company closed an $11.5M Series A financing. The financing was led by Merida Capital Holdings with participation from the founders, Scott Gordon, Flatiron Venture Partners, L2V, Entourage Effect Capital, and Delta Emerald Ventures. Cellibre intends to use the proceeds to expand operations and broaden its business reach. Cellibre develops proprietary cells to enable production of pure, natural, pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoids through fermentation. The company uses an organism-agnostic approach to turn cells into specialized, sustainable factories for manufacturing globally significant products at scale. Its initial strategic focus is on deploying that expertise to enable pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid production. Cellibre was founded in 2017 by CEO Ben Chiarelli and is based in San Diego, CA. The company intends to accelerate development of its cell platforms using newly raised funds. No operating metrics or revenue figures were disclosed in the article.

Led · Convertible Note · Jul 2021

Green Check Verified (GCV) provides industry-leading technology and advisory services that enable compliant relationships between banks, credit unions, and cannabis-related businesses. Its product suite supports compliant deposits and payments and, following the PayQwick acquisition, adds payments and lending capabilities to enable real-time transactions, lending, and supply chain settlements. GCV reported strong recent growth: 87% revenue growth, 55% growth in financial institution clients, and 261% growth in cannabis businesses served. The company serves more than 130 financial institutions and over 4,000 cannabis-related businesses. Founded in 2017 and based in Bonita Springs, Florida, GCV positions itself as a comprehensive financial services ecosystem for banks and cannabis businesses. It has received industry recognition including inclusion in The Cannabis 50 and multiple compliance awards. Green Check Verified provides a cloud-based compliance surveillance platform that helps financial institutions perform ongoing diligence for cannabis-related businesses, including per-transaction AML functionality. The company serves more than 1,000 cannabis-related companies and offers services across 32 states. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in New Haven, GCV reported earlier traction reaching Hawaii, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. The firm plans to be in all states with legal cannabis programs by the end of the year and to use new funding to advance its product roadmap. Financially, GCV has raised more than $8 million to date, including a recent oversubscribed convertible note and a prior $2.4 million convertible note in February.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2019

PathogenDx offers DNA-based testing via an advanced microarray testing platform for the cannabis, hemp, agriculture, food and beverage industries. Its technology can identify and detect up to 50 pathogens in a single test in about six hours, providing triplicate data per analyte for result certainty. The company sells DNA-testing products branded DetectX™, QuantX™ and EnviroX™ that identify, detect and quantify pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella and Aspergillus. Led by CEO Milan Patel, PathogenDx serves a portfolio of domestic and international clients in the cannabis industry. The company raised $7.5M in a Series B to support expansion into food and agriculture testing and to build on its cannabis-market position. PathogenDx develops DNA-based pathogen testing kits and solutions for the cannabis, botanical, food, and agricultural markets. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, the company’s technology scales from individual plants to large agricultural fields. Its platform delivers real-time data to growers, processors, producers and ancillary service providers to detect fungi, molds, viruses and mildew. PathogenDx emphasizes simplicity, cost-effectiveness and adaptable scale for both large and small testing facilities. Management said a recent strategic investment from Salveo Capital will support growth, market expansion and continued focus on product safety. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2019

Willow Industries develops WillowPure, a patented, organic ozone-based post-harvest microbial decontamination technology for cannabis. The technology is scientifically proven to reduce or eliminate contaminants such as yeast, mold and bacteria while protecting the plant's medicinal properties. Willow focuses on providing cultivators with a kill-step solution to deliver clean, high-quality products to patients and consumers. Its WillowPure system is currently deployed in 26 U.S. states. The company has begun international expansion into Canada and Australia. Willow intends to use the new funds to accelerate its international growth. Willow Industries builds the patent-pending WillowPure ozone systems to remove microbial contaminants from harvested cannabis while preserving terpenes, potency, color and taste. The technology uses industry-recognized USDA/EPA approved ozone gas and is described as environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and scalable. Willow has deployed WillowPure in three volume-scaled, mobile units to serve boutique cultivators through large multi-state operators and currently operates in nine states. The company says its solution has saved cultivators over $50M in flower failure. Willow positions its product around consumer safety and helping cultivators sell clean, high-quality cannabis, and expects to scale and expand alongside the legal cannabis industry domestically and internationally.