• Equinom

  Led · Equity · Apr 2016

  Equinom uses its Manna™ technology platform and a large seed vault to breed higher-quality, non-GMO source crops (including pea and soy) optimized for food applications that require minimal processing. Its optimized crops aim to improve taste, nutrition, and reduce cost and complexity for plant-based foods, enabling food companies to deliver tastier and more affordable alternatives to meat and dairy. Equinom plans to commercialize these plant-protein ingredients through established multinational ingredient suppliers and expand seed development and grain production for ultra-high protein soy and pea varieties. The company also intends to invest in R&D and breeding programs for additional crops including chickpea, fava, mung bean, and cowpea, and to add key personnel. Financially, Equinom announced a $35 million tranche of funding and has raised over $71 million in total to date. The company presented this news from Indianapolis. Equinom develops seeds for plant-based proteins using AI-driven technology, a distinct methodology, and a proprietary genomic database to breed improved traits such as protein amount and functionality, flavor, yield, and field performance. The company begins with exotic and ancient crop types and applies non-GMO breeding methods to reverse years of yield-focused breeding that it says reduced ingredient quality. Its sesame seeds are grown on over 100,000 acres across five continents, and Equinom says it has secured 'millions of dollars in contracts' with market-leading food brands for custom-designed ingredients. Improved seeds for pea, soy, and other legumes are slated to debut in October this year. Equinom has collaborated with Sabra, PepsiCo, and Roquette and positions itself as a 'sophisticated ingredient company' targeting food manufacturers seeking lower-cost, cleaner-label plant-based inputs. The company will use new funding to boost sales and marketing and to expand R&D. Equinom is a Kibbutz Givat Brenner, Israel-based seed-breeding company led by CEO Gil Shalev that builds an ecosystem connecting food companies to the supply chain to improve transparency and responsible sourcing of plant protein. The company develops mechanically harvestable seed varieties and has become a preferred supplier for sesame seeds. Equinom plans to launch a high-protein pea variety in 2021. The firm closed a $10M Series B to support its growth. It intends to use the funds to accelerate global expansion and to build talent and infrastructure. The description and plans are focused on supplying high-value plant-protein ingredients to food companies. Equinom develops proprietary software, algorithms and data‑science methods to identify genomic regions controlling complex, multi‑gene crop traits and to select optimal combinations for cross‑breeding. The company deliberately avoids genetic modification and gene editing, positioning its products for a global clean‑label market. Equinom both builds the technology stack and runs breeding programs, selling seed and collecting royalties as a primary revenue stream. Its first commercialized crop is sesame, bred for mechanical harvestability and higher yield; the company targets capturing 5–10% of the $8 billion sesame market. Equinom is now focusing on legumes, starting with peas, aiming to commercialize varieties with 35%–55% higher protein content and improved protein quality by 2021. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Israel; it is building a gene bank/database to improve discovery across species via machine learning. EQUInom is an Israeli seed‑breeding startup that uses computational breeding technology to create seeds for the global food industry. The company applies genomics, bioinformatics, and phenomics in its proprietary breeding platform. It plans to use the new capital to boost its plant‑protein seed breeding program. The $1.25M round was led by Hazera, a field crops and seed production specialist group. EQUInom has signed with Obela, the joint venture of PepsiCo and Strauss Group, to participate in a breeding program using its proprietary technology. Recent market research cited in the article notes the plant‑protein market totaled $7.7 billion last year and could reach $10 billion by 2020, indicating growing demand for protein‑rich crops. The funding round brings the company’s total financing to $2.25M.

No current team members are available.