Entrepreneur First is the place where the ambitious come together to build globally important technology companies. Through our platform running in 6 cities across 3 continents, we invest in high-potential individuals to help them meet their co-founder, develop their ideas and secure funding from leading investors in the shortest possible time.   We have built over 300 companies from scratch; have over 5000 alumni worldwide; and our portfolio is valued at over $5bn. EF companies include Tractable (Computer Vision, currently valued at $1bn as of June 2021), Magic Pony Technology (AI, acquired by Twitter for a reported $150m), Represent (social commerce, acquired by CustomInk), BloomsburyAI (acquired by Facebook), Cleo (fintech), OpenCosmos (space), CloudNC (manufacturing), Transcelestial (satellite communications) and many more. We're backed by some of the world's best tech founders and investors, including Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), Greylock Partners, Founders Fund, Demis Hassabis (Google Deepmind) and Taavet Hinrikus (Wise). For more information about Entrepreneur First, visit www.joinef.com.

Entrepreneur First

Challenge. Disrupt. Transform. Let’s create economic value. And make a positive impact on society. Because we believe that entrepreneurship stretches far beyond projects. It’s above all about ambition. The ambition to shake up the status-quo, take risks, inspire change and have an impact on tomorrow’s world. Whether you’re a startup, midcap, corporation, entrepreneur or intrapreneur, WILCO empowers you and your entrepreneurial ambitions with sector-specific expertise. Our mission? Help entrepreneurs grow by turning their innovative transformation projects into reality. We’re committed to transforming ambition into success, as ethically as possible and free from conflicts of interest. How? Using an approach tested and proven on over 1,500 projects. A unique method that gets projects off the ground. And creates value. Based on our commitment to unleash every ambition.

WILCO

Bpifrance provides financial solutions for companies that are booting up the listing on the stock exchange and credit equity. It includes OSEO, CDC Entreprises, FSI, and FSI Regions to offer in your area of financial solutions at every stage of the life of your business.

Bpifrance

La French Tech is a global initiative that supports and promotes French communities of startups and entrepreneurs around the world. It assists all the professionals working towards startups’ growth and international promotion, including entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, designer, developers, corporate companies, R&D centers, government agencies, incubators, co-working spaces, and more. La French Tech was founded in 2013 and is based in Paris, Ile-de-France.

La French Tech

Hoxton Ventures focuses on startups that either disrupt existing industries or invent entirely new market categories. Hoxton typically invests between $500,000 and $5 million into pre-seed, seed, and Series A stage companies, and follows its capital through the life of the company.  The firm is based in London and invests all across Europe.

Hoxton Ventures

Demeter is a major player in venture capital and private equity for the energy and ecological transition. They invest from 500 K€ to 30 M€ to support companies at all stages of their development: innovative startups, high growth SMEs and infrastructure projects.

Demeter

AgFunder invests in impactful companies that can positively transform the world's food system. Founded in 2013, AgFunder manages a portfolio of over 50 companies across four funds from offices in Silicon Valley and Singapore. Through its media platform AFN, it has built a global ecosystem of over 90,000 subscribers.

AgFunder

Based in Singapore, GROW is an ecosystem catalyst advancing innovation, sustainability, and resilience in the food system. We’re on a mission to inspire and accelerate extraordinary founders who are developing technology solutions that deliver positive impact for people, place, and planet. Through our fund and accelerator programs we work with startups to supercharge their growth on the global stage. GROW is supported by Enterprise Singapore and backed by leading agrifoodtech VC AgFunder.

GROW Agrifoodtech Accelerator

Dhyan VC is a deep tech venture capital firm

Dhyan VC

phagos

phagos develops personalised bacteriophage solutions as a sustainable alternative to antibiotics.

<div>Phagos Biotech, established in 2021, is a French biotechnology company that develops bacteriophage-based solutions to combat the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Using bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria, Phagos Biotech aims to provide a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional antibiotics, particularly addressing the challenges in the seafood and livestock industries. According to the company, it can develop solutions from scratch in just two months.</div>

Driving livestock productivity using next-generation biotechnology

Livestock Biotech

Phagos Biotech

<div>
 
 Phagos Biotech, established in 2021, is a French biotechnology company that develops bacteriophage-based solutions to combat the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Using bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria, Phagos Biotech aims to provide a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional antibiotics, particularly addressing the challenges in the seafood and livestock industries. According to the company, it can develop solutions from scratch in just two months.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 In September 2022, Phagos Biotech raised EUR 2.4 million (~USD 2.6 million) in seed funding co-led by Demeter and Hoxton Ventures. The funds were earmarked for the company&rsquo;s transition from technological breakthroughs into mainstream production with a focus on animal health. Additionally, in August 2023, it received EUR 1.3 million (~USD 1.4 million) in grant funding from Bpifrance.
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Aviabiotic (formerly Chicken Probiotic) is a biotechnology company innovating in poultry health. The company specializes in creating probiotics engineered for enhanced thermostability, elimination of antibiotic resistance, and dependency on corn sugar, making them environmentally friendly. These probiotics are designed specifically for integrated poultry operations, addressing both health and efficiency in poultry production.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 Aviabiotic's latest funding was a grant received in 2020, which has facilitated the development and commercialization of its specialized probiotics.&nbsp;
 
 
 
</div>

Aviabiotic

<div>
 
 ZeaVaxx is an animal healthcare company using advanced biotechnology to improve vaccine effectiveness for animals. Its plant-derived nanoparticle adjuvant platform claims to offer advantages over aluminum-based ones that are falling short in current animal vaccine formulations due to low efficacy and compatibility issues. This platform is designed to enhance the immunogenicity of vaccines to ensure that the vaccines can provoke a stronger and more effective immune response in animals.
 
 
 
 
 ZeaVaxx flagship product, Zea-11, is a proprietary glucan-based nanoparticle derived from plants. Zea-11 claims to offer simplified extraction and chemical finalization, making it the first economically viable nanoparticle adjuvant for animal vaccines.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In June 2018, the company secured USD 50,000 in pre-seed funding from the Purdue Ag-celerator.
 
 
 
</div>

ZeaVaxx

<div>
 
 Malcisbo, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), is a Swiss biotechnology company developing novel vaccines for animal and human health. The company focuses on glycoengineering technologies to create efficient glycoconjugate vaccines to address bacterial diseases that impact animal health, human food safety, and zoonotic diseases.
 
 
 
 
 Its primary product offerings target Campylobacter infections in humans (to reduce food poisoning from chicken meat) and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (to reduce economic losses in the swine industry due to mortality, growth retardation, and the need for antibiotics).
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 As of May 2024, the company had been awarded 10 grants totaling CHF 3.5 million (~USD 3.8 million).
 
 
 
</div>

Malcisbo

<div>
 
 eggXYt is an Israeli biotech company that specializes in ultrasound technology for eggs. The company has developed a non-invasive, pre-incubation sex detection technology for chicken embryos, named seXYt, which allows poultry farmers to separate male and female layer chicks before incubation. This process claims to prevent unnecessary incubation of over 8 billion male layer chicks annually, which are otherwise disposed of after birth due to their unsuitability for the industry. These eggs are then repurposed and used outside the food industry, leading to lower costs and reduced resource waste in hatcheries.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 In November 2020, the company signed an R&amp;D licensing agreement with Tropic Biosciences to develop Avian influenza resistance in chickens through gene editing.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 eggXYt has received over USD 2.5 million in funding from the European Union through the Horizon 2020 SME Program for its sex detection technology and to expand its research into new areas such as disease resistance in poultry.
 
 
 
</div>

eggXYt

<div>
 
 BioRefic is a Latvian biotech company that develops biorefinery technology to produce advanced prebiotic ingredients and microbial Omega-3 fatty acids. It primarily serves the animal feed and aquaculture sectors by providing sustainable alternatives to traditional feed ingredients. Biorefic&rsquo;s products, which include xylooligosaccharide prebiotic (a gut microbiome enhancing ingredient to improve health and immunity and boost performance), are designed to enhance animal health and efficiency, thus reducing the overall environmental impact of agriculture.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 BioRefic has raised a total of EUR 250,000 in funding over two rounds, with its most recent funding coming from a non-equity assistance round supported by RootCamp. 
 
 
 
</div>

BioRefic

Companies that offer solutions that edit (gene editing) or modify (gene modification) an animal's genome in a precise and targeted manner using methods such as TALEN's, CRISPR/Cas9, recombinant retroviruses, and sperm-mediated DNA transfer. The techniques change the existing genome to improve/express desired traits in livestock. The segment also covers companies that use an AI-based platform or otherwise to offer diagnostic testing services of the animal's genome that help livestock farmers identify genetic changes or diseases present in herds.

Companies that offer next-generation vaccines based on developments in DNA technology (e.g., mRNA vaccines) and biotechnology. The segment also includes medicines developed for the prevention and treatment of livestock diseases.

Companies that use a range of genetic techniques that can alter the DNA of animals more precisely than traditional breeding techniques. Techniques such as gender selection via sexed semen, genomic selection, or even gene editing methods like CRISPR are used to breed animals precisely with superior genetic traits.

Companies that produce natural ingredients or biological additives that can be added to animal feed for purposes such as improving nutrient uptake and the gut microbiome.

Biotech solutions to grow livestock that are of better traits and sustainable

Uses AI/machine learning to facilitate their platform/biotech processes like gene editing

Offers customization of genes and traits as required by farmers

Phagos Biotech

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless