Participated · Series A · Oct 2025

Ascribe Bioscience is an Ithaca, NY-based agricultural technology company founded in 2017 out of research at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University. The company’s small-molecule platform taps compounds from the soil microbiome to create environmentally friendly crop-protection products that match the ease of use and cost profile of conventional chemicals. Its lead product, Phytalix, is positioned as a broad-spectrum “biofungicide without compromise,” offering sustainable disease control alongside practical on-farm performance. Ascribe plans to ramp manufacturing and begin early commercialization, targeting first regulatory approval in Brazil later this year with the United States and additional markets to follow. Proceeds from its recent financing will also advance further R&D on next-generation natural crop-protection solutions. While the company has not disclosed revenue or user metrics, investors cite “dramatic yield gains” in field trials as validation of its technology. Overall, Ascribe aims to provide farmers worldwide with highly effective, sustainable tools to improve crop resilience and yields.

Led · Equity · Sep 2025

NoBACZ Healthcare develops a patent-protected coating that forms an instant, flexible and waterproof barrier over animal wounds, replacing traditional antibiotics and cloth bandages. Applied as a gel, dip or spray, the coating seals out slurry and bacteria, enabling healing even in harsh farm environments and then biodegrades safely within the food chain. Large-scale validation includes a Flock Health trial on 6,840 lambs that showed lower mortality and higher market weights versus industry standards. The company is already selling in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, and is launching in New Zealand, the USA and Australia. Future plans include expanding its veterinary product pipeline and exploring human wound-care applications. The spin-out is led by co-founders Dr. Jonathan Powell (CEO) and Dr. Nuno Faria. The £4.8 million just raised will accelerate global distribution and finalize new products.

Led · Seed · Jan 2024

Marama Labs is a deep-tech sensor and data-analytics company that develops patented CloudSpec UV-Vis spectroscopy instrumentation and accompanying cloud software for chemical analysis of complex liquids. The company targets applications including wine, nano-medicines and pharmaceutical products to improve production processes and add value. Led by CEO Dr Brendan Darby, Marama Labs operates out of Dublin, Ireland and Wellington, New Zealand. The company intends to use the new funds to scale up hardware manufacturing capacity in New Zealand. The product suite combines novel light-based sensor instrumentation with cloud data-analytics tools to enable efficient, on‑site chemical analysis. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article. Marama Labs has developed CloudSpec, a UV-Vis spectrophotometer that simultaneously measures absorption, extinction, and scattering spectra of clear and turbid liquids. Its sensors are combined with proprietary data-analytics tools to provide solutions for food & beverage and liquid-processing industries. The company’s current target market is winemaking, where the platform helps winemakers track the style of their wines throughout production to meet and exceed consumer preferences and improve winery sales. Led by CEO Brendan Darby, Marama Labs plans to use new funds to expand operations and to build its product line. Financially, the company completed a $500K seed round and has raised NZ$2M in total to date. The business is based in Wellington, New Zealand.

Led · Equity · Dec 2023

Spotta develops proprietary artificial intelligence combined with ultra-low-power Internet of Things monitoring devices to provide real-time pest detection and actionable insights. The company holds patented technology and has received multiple awards for its work. Spotta’s platform is already deployed commercially across more than 20 countries. Leadership positions the business as an early leader in pest-management technology, supported by an experienced management team. The recent £3.4 million funding round will fund continued product development and commercial expansion. The company is based in Cambridge.

Led · Equity · Nov 2023

NanobOx has developed a patented technology that generates nanobubbles of gases such as air, oxygen, ozone and carbon dioxide directly in water using an electric field. Nanobubbles are the smallest possible bubbles and offer the highest rate of oxygen transfer; the company says its method requires less energy than it takes to power a lightbulb, an order of magnitude less than competing methods. A particular focus is generating oxygen-enriched nanobubbles from ambient air, which NanobOx reports delivers an oxygen-transfer efficiency of 90%, compared with less than 20% for conventional aeration. Its first-generation products are being designed for water treatment in agriculture and aquaculture to increase yields and reduce input costs, with potential applications in wastewater treatment, industrial bioreactors and environmental remediation. Field trials are under way with horticultural and aquacultural producers and researchers in Europe, North America and Asia, and the company aims to go to market in 2024. NanobOx secured first-round funding of $1 million led by The Yield Lab, with DeepIE Ventures and Growing Capital, to complete field trials and support commercialization.