Toopi Organics announced the closure of a €16M ($17M) financing round. The French biotechnology startup, celebrated for developing plant biostimulants from human urine fermentation, will channel these funds to bolster its urine collection network, introduce three innovative urine-based products in the European Union (EU), and inaugurate two production sites in France and Belgium. The ambitious goal is to transform more than 2 million liters of human urine annually by 2027.
VisVires New Protein, an international fund renowned for endorsing transformative solutions for a sustainable agri-food ecosystem, led the Series A financing. European impact funds Edaphon, Noshaq, MAIF Impact, and BNP Paribas Développement joined them. The round also witnessed contributions from established investors like IRDI, JOHES, and MakeSense.
Supplementing the €11M from this financing round, Toopi Organics also garnered €5M in non-dilutive funds. This included a significant €3.8M impact grant from the French government (ADEME) and a €1.1M grant from Bpifrance. These grants underscore the company’s commitment to fostering water conservation and ushering in the EU’s sustainable and resilient agricultural paradigm. Alexandra Carpentier, CEO of Toopi Organics, expressed, “Our aspiration with this funding is to pioneer a range of urine-based biostimulants across 600,000 hectares of European crops by 2027. Lactopi Start, our flagship product, has received widespread acclaim, especially in Belgium. It offers a tangible solution to the EU’s reliance on phosphate fertilizer imports and presents farmers with a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative.”
The past three years have seen Toopi Organics establish an unmatched urine collection network across France. Collaborations with leading entities like Vinci Highways for highway rest areas and WC Loc for music festivals have strengthened their position. Marie-Anne Dupin, Partner at VisVires New Protein, remarked, “Toopi Organics’ journey from a startup to a scale-up has been nothing short of impressive. Their commitment to transforming human urine into a sustainable agricultural resource is a testament to their innovative approach.”
Reflecting on Toopi Organics’ inception, Michael Roes, Founder, and President, shared, “While our initial ideas might have seemed offbeat, the recent scientific consensus on human urine diversion for agriculture and the escalating fertilizer prices have spotlighted the importance and timeliness of our initiative.” Established in 2019, Toopi Organics is a trailblazing biotechnology firm dedicated to harnessing human urine for developing microbial plant biostimulants. With a passionate team spread across France and Belgium, they are steadfast in their mission to revolutionize European agriculture by 2027.
Image provided by Toopi Organics
