Key Takeaways:
- Ceragen raised $2 million in seed funding to expand operations and develop new products.
- The funding round was co-led by Divergent Capital and 1517 Fund, with Ajira Ventures participating.
- The company develops soil microbes to aid greenhouse crop production.
- The funding will facilitate expansion into Mexico and the Netherlands.
- Ceragen plans to move to a larger facility to support growth.
Funding and Expansion Plans
Ceragen, a startup focused on optimizing fruit and vegetable production through soil microbes, has secured $2 million in a seed funding round. This financing will enable the company to expand its operations and advance its technology in new markets.
Based in the University of Waterloo’s startup incubator, Velocity, Ceragen develops soil microbes that enhance the growth of greenhouse-grown fruits and vegetables. The funding round was co-led by Divergent Capital and 1517 Fund, with participation from Ajira Ventures.
Greenhouse Efficiency
“Greenhouses are incredibly efficient,” stated Ceragen CEO Danielle Rose in an interview with the University. “They can produce over ten times more food per acre and use 95 percent less water compared to traditional field production. Increasing the productivity of our current farmland and greenhouses is the best option to increase food security.”
Rose pointed out that most tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers found in Canadian grocery stores are grown in greenhouses. She noted that with climate change making field production more unreliable, the demand for greenhouse-grown produce is rising.
Technological Innovation
Ceragen’s technology integrates beneficial bacteria and fungi into hydroponic systems, which are typically used in greenhouses. These microbes assist plants in nutrient uptake, environmental stress response, and pathogen defense, thereby boosting crop yield.
Ceragen’s “probiotics for plants” have demonstrated an average 10 percent increase in production yield during pilot projects in Canada and the U.S. “By figuring out which soil microbes can live in a water-based environment, and which ones help each plant type, we are able to help growers produce more food with the same amount of resources,” Rose explained.
Product Development and Market Expansion
The company currently offers products for lettuce and tomato plants and plans to use the new funding to develop products for cucumbers and strawberries. Expansion into Mexico and the Netherlands is also on the horizon.
Ceragen’s Chief Technology Officer, Matthew Rose, mentioned the anticipation among growers for new products. “We regularly get asked when we will also have solutions for strawberries and cucumbers, and with this funding round we can finally develop these products,” he said.
New Facility
To accommodate its growth, Ceragen will move from Velocity to a 5,000-square-foot facility in Kitchener. This new space will support the company’s plans to produce new inoculants and further its mission of enhancing greenhouse crop production.
