BASF Venture Capital GmbH
Provivi™ Announces Expanded Series B Financing Round
Santa Monica, California, November 27, 2018 – Provivi™, an emerging company using pheromones to protect crops from major damaging insects, today announced a $5 million expansion to a $31.5 million Series B, bringing the round total to $36.5 million.
The expansion featured participation from both existing and new investors. BASF Venture Capital and Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, also participated in the expanded round as strategic investors.
“The expansion of Provivi’s Series B is exciting for several reasons,” said Dr. Pedro Coelho, Co-Founder and CEO of Provivi™. “Participation from existing investors further validates our technology and commercialization strategy. Participation from new investors reflects the market’s interest in Provivi™ and receptivity to our mission of establishing pheromones as a universal foundation for integrated pest management.”
Provivi™ is developing a family of safe, effective, and economical pheromone solutions for crop protection. Pheromones are substances that serve as highly selective attractants for insects, allowing the control of deleterious pests while preserving beneficial insects. Provivi’s patented production method enables a step change in the cost of manufacturing pheromones, allowing use of this proven tool in high-acreage crops such as corn, rice, and soy.
“A limited number of specialty crops have seen the benefits of using pheromones in insect management,” said Dr. Ganesh Kishore, co-manager of MLS Capital Fund II. “Extending that to include diverse crops and cropping situations has now been validated by the hard and innovative work of the Provivi™ team and we are delighted to be a part of this development.”
“Provivi continues to successfully execute its vision of improving the safety and sustainability of global food production,” said James Demetriades, Chief Executive Officer of Kairos Ventures, who led the round. “I am particularly excited about the yield protection results from the company’s latest field trials and am looking forward to Provivi’s ongoing success.”
The Series B funds will support further development, testing, and commercialization of Provivi’s new pheromone products.
About Provivi™
We are a groundbreaking science-based company creating scalable, safer insect control technology that will improve the quality of life for all humans and our world. For more information, see www.provivi.com.
Media Contact:
Adam Baldwin
310-828-2307