Driven by a mission to redefine food, Acre invests in companies creating systemic change in the food system to address the growing problems of human and environmental health. Acre makes venture-stage investments in highly disruptive platform businesses across the food value chain, with a particular focus on the agriculture, food tech, and consumer verticals. Taken together, these investments have the ability to form the foundation of an integrated new approach to food system evolution.

Acre Venture Partners

Alexandria Venture Investments is a venture capital firm that develops work in real estate technology, and healthcare sectors. The company's strategic venture capital platform is Alexandria Venture Investments. Since its inception in 1996, the company has invested in disruptive life science, agrifood tech, and technology companies that are developing transformative new modalities and platforms to meaningfully improve human health.

Alexandria Venture Investments

Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and grows first-in-category ventures to transform human health and sustainability. The company accelerates Flagship Pioneering’s advances in biology, engineering, medicine, energy, and beyond. The firm harnesses science and entrepreneurialism to envision alternative futures, beginning with seemingly unreasonable propositions and navigating to transformational outcomes through an evolutionary methodology. Flagship Pioneering combines innovative capacity, entrepreneurial leadership, and professional capital management in a single enterprise that systematically produces first-in-category companies.

Flagship Pioneering

50 South Capital is an alternatives asset management firm designed to meet the core strategic needs of investors seeking access to hedge funds, private equity, and real assets solutions.  50 South Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northern Trust Corporation.

50 South Capital

Investing since 1991, EDBI is a Singapore-based global investor in select high-growth technology sectors ranging from Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Emerging Technology (ET), Healthcare (HC), and other strategic industries. As a value-creating investor, EDBI assists companies to achieve their ambitious goals by leveraging their broad network, resources, and expertise. With their patient capital, EDBI supports companies seeking to grow in Asia and globally through Singapore.

EDBI

Founded in Geneva in 1805, Pictet is today one of Switzerland's largest private banks, with assets under management and custody totalling USD 321 billion (CHF 349 / EUR 229) at the end of June 2009.

Pictet Private Equity Investors S.A.

Rivas Capital is a private investment firm focused on long-term principal investments in breakthrough technology businesses.

Rivas Capital

Principal Investment Arm of the government of Dubai

Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD)

Founded in 2011, G Squared is aligned with a fundamental shift: venture-backed companies stay private longer. As a result, private companies need both primary capital to continue their growth trajectory and transitional capital to provide liquidity to early investors, current and former employees, and other sellers. Positioned at the crux of this liquidity access challenge, G Squared partners with portfolio companies throughout their lifecycle using a fundamentally different approach than traditional VCs. The company invests in companies that challenge the status quo and demonstrate a clear path to superior returns, partnering with world-class entrepreneurs tackling big problems. G Squared funds have invested in household names such as 23andMe, Coursera, Instacart, Lyft, Pinterest, and Spotify, as well as in the next generation of disruptors, including Asana, Blend, Bolt, Brex, Capsule, Flexport, Impossible Foods, Toast, and Turo.

G Squared

Pavilion Capital operates as a private equity firm under Temasek Holdings. Pavilion Capital invests primarily in privately owned firms in North Asia.

Pavilion Capital

CPP Investments's mandate is to invest in the best interests of Canada Pension Plan contributors and beneficiaries and to maximize investment returns without undue risk of loss. CPP Investments is a professional investment management organization that invests the assets of the Canada Pension Plan, not currently needed to pay pension, disability, and survivor benefits.

CPP Investments

NGS Super provides SuperFund for those in non-government education and community organizations.

NGS Super

Hanwha Impact Partners is an investment firm that invest in ecofriendly energy and businesses that leverage the convergence of technologies.

Hanwha Impact Partners

Sage Hill Capital is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Sage Hill Capital provide comprehensive investment advice, and portfolio management services.

Sage Hill Capital

Rokos Capital Management is an alternative investment fund manager that provides effective risk management solutions.

Rokos Capital Management

State of Michigan Retirement System is a retirement program for employees, public school employees, judges, state police, and National Guard members.

State of Michigan Retirement System

Inari

Inari is a biotechnology company that aims to transform agriculture and its impact on society and the environment. It embraces diversity in every aspect of its business to drive innovation and help build a new food system. The company's technology matches the complexity of nature using predictive design and multiplex gene editing to unlock the full potential of the seed.  Inari's SEEDesign platform is their point of distinction, using unsurpassed technology to enhance any crop for any geography to develop step-change products with a clear go-to-market approach.

<div>Inari is a gene editing startup that leverages the advancements in genomics, AI, and multiplex gene editing to improve crop yield and resource efficiency sustainably. Inari uses the SEEDesign platform, which combines AI-powered predictive designing, advanced multiplex, and CRISPR gene editing (using its patented PRIDE technology). The company focuses on significant crops, which include corn, soybeans, and wheat. Inari claims it increases the soybean, corn, and wheat yields by 10%&ndash;20% and can reduce the water and nitrogen consumption in corn by 40%. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company also has operations in Indiana and Belgium.&nbsp;</div>

Enhancing seed and crop traits via biotechnology

Crop Biotech

Inari updates labels for Clottriever XL devices

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 Inari is a gene editing startup that leverages the advancements in genomics, AI, and multiplex gene editing to improve crop yield and resource efficiency sustainably. Inari uses the SEEDesign platform, which combines AI-powered predictive designing, advanced multiplex, and CRISPR gene editing (using its patented PRIDE technology). The company focuses on significant crops, which include corn, soybeans, and wheat. Inari claims it increases the soybean, corn, and wheat yields by 10%&ndash;20% and can reduce the water and nitrogen consumption in corn by 40%. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company also has operations in Indiana and Belgium.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 In May 2021, Inari partnered with retail seed company Beck's Hybrid with a business and R&amp;D agreement. Its technology was integrated with Beck's established corn research and breeding program to increase efficiency and improve both companies&rsquo; gene editing innovation. To further expand Inari&rsquo;s genetic base for soybean, it partnered with Mertec, LLC and M.S. Technologies, LLC&nbsp; (May 2021), and for corn, it partnered with Eden Enterprise (October 2021). In February 2022, it collaborated with Australian cereal breeding company InterGrain to improve wheat yield to overcome climate challenges by combining Inari&rsquo;s gene editing expertise with InterGrain&rsquo;s wheat genetics.
 
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 PLANTeDIT is a biotech company that develops agricultural solutions by using advanced genome editing tools, specifically CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), to create sustainable food products. One of PLANTeDIT's key projects is the development of non-transgenic high-oleic soybeans, which are created by mutating the FAD2 gene in soybeans, resulting in increased oleic oil content.&nbsp;
 
 
 High oleic oils are valued in the food industry for their stability and shelf life, making them a suitable replacement for hydrogenated oils that contain trans fats. PLANTeDIT's high oleic soybean oil has potential applications in various food products, including packaged baked goods, cereal coatings, crackers, dried fruits, and non-dairy creamers.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In October 2017, PLANTeDIT partnered with biotech company ToolGen, Inc., to receive access to ToolGen's CRISPR platform and licenses for other gene-editing tools for the company's R&amp;D in crop improvement areas such as resilience to harsh climates, increased nutrition, and higher yield.
 
</div>

PLANTeDIT

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 Amfora is an agricultural biotech company that uses CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to make plant-based alternatives for animal protein and increase the protein content of staple food crops. The company also uses DNA markers, phenotyping tools such as single-seed near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), and AI tools for advanced crop breeding methodologies to enhance crop genes affecting the protein, oil, and yield content in feed crops.
 
 
 Amfora is developing a family of feed and food crops, the latter of which includes soybeans wheat, and rice, and provides the suppliers of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives with their primary ingredients. The company is also involved in aquaculture feed with the development of a low-cost plant-based protein for farmed seafood.
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s patented CRISPR technology leverages gene editing to control the balance between protein and carbohydrates, thereby increasing protein in all crops. The CRISPR technology also lowers the glycemic index and starch, optimizes the amino acid profile, and enhances micronutrients in its food crops.
 
 
 In May 2024, Amfora announced it received approval from the US Department of Agriculture&rsquo;s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for its soybean, with expected commercialization by 2027.
 
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 Amfora partnered with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in April 2017 and Corteva Agriscience in April 2019 to receive licenses from the two partners to develop oil and protein content in food crops.
 
 
 In March 2021, it partnered with Plastomics to use its trait delivery technology to introduce Amfora&rsquo;s gene-editing constructs into soybean germplasm. The company partnered with McClintock in July 2023 to combine its phenotyping tools with McClintock&rsquo;s AI and machine learning breeding solutions to accelerate efforts of increasing soybean productivity.
 
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Amfora

<div>
 
 BioHeuris is an Argentine biotech company that combines synthetic biology with CRISPR gene editing to develop hybrid herbicide-resistant crops to reduce the use of herbicides increasing sustainability and reducing development costs and time to market.&nbsp;
 
 
 BioHeuris has two technology platforms&mdash;Heurik and Swap. Heurik is a high-throughput platform that uses directed evolution and designs of herbicide targets to identify mutations that allow herbicide resistance. Heurik can select gene variants and compare their microorganisms' efficiency and anticipate their effect on crops. Swap is a non-genetically modified organism (non-GMO) platform that combines tissue culture with gene editing techniques to precisely introduce changes and confer herbicide resistance in crops.&nbsp;
 
 
 BioHeuris&rsquo; variety of crop developments with partners include soybean, sorghum, rice, cotton, alfalfa, peanut, maize, and sunflower. The company is developing high-yielding resilient crop varieties for soybean, cotton, and alfalfa. For the rest of the crops, BioHeuris is focusing on developing herbicide and climate-resistant hybrid varieties.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 BioHeuris partnered with Benson Hill in May 2018 and Gensus in May 2021 to apply the company&rsquo;s gene editing technology in developing herbicide-tolerant crops for soybeans, sorghum, and wheat for the former and cotton for the latter. It also partnered with Grupo Don Mario (GDM) in June 2021 for the development of high-yielding soybean varieties using gene editing.&nbsp;
 
 
 In February 2022, BioHeuris partnered with AgIdea to develop a single platform, the Agile Breeding platform, providing genome editing, breeding services, and double haploid tools to seed companies. 
 
</div>

BioHeuris

<div>
 
 UK-based Tropic Biosciences (Tropic) develops genetic innovation for tropical crops to increase crop yield and sustainability. Tropic uses pioneering technologies, including CRISPR gene editing, to increase crop disease and climate resistance, reduce supply chain waste, and reduce dependence on pesticides.&nbsp;
 
 
 Tropic&rsquo;s in-house gene editing platform, Gene Editing-induced Gene Silencing (GEiGS), combines gene editing precision with gene silencing (RNAi) and innovates vast gene editing possibilities in crops to improve their natural traits.
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s tropical crops offered are varieties of bananas, rice, and coffee. The bananas are developed with gene editing to be resistant to the Panama and Black Sigatoka diseases, have an extended shelf life, and reduce food waste and CO2 emissions by over 25%. Using gene silencing, Tropic makes its coffee low in caffeine and increases solubility with gene editing. The company uses gene editing for rice to make them high-yielding and disease-resistant.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 To use its GEiGS platform for developing crop traits, crop varieties and improving livestock protein feed, Tropic Biosciences partnered with Baden Aniline and Soda Factory (BASF) in July 2020, Genus in October 2020, British Sugar in March 2023, and Corteva Agriscience in October 2023.
 
 
 Tropic Biosciences received a license of access for Pairwise&rsquo;s base editing technologies in February 2022 to accelerate breeding innovation in coffee and banana crops for the former.
 
</div>

Tropic Biosciences

<div>
 
 Meiogenix is a French agriculture biotech company that partakes in chromosome editing to develop new crops. The varieties of crops, using meiotic recombination, expand the biodiversity available to farmers, which is claimed to overcome climate change and food insecurity challenges. The company&rsquo;s SpiX technology targets homologous recombination in plant genomes, which allows the re-assembly of crop traits during the breeding process. The recombination process is claimed to reduce lengthy breeding cycles from 6&ndash;13 years to 3&ndash;7 years and allows the development of entirely new complex traits.
 
 
 In 2021, Meiogenix was developing three applications: the transfer of gene edits or transgenes into a large number of commercial germplasm; the isolation of useful crop traits from low agronomic performance of wild varieties; and the generation of complex crop traits, such as flavor, drought tolerance, nitrogen, or water use. As of 2021, the company&rsquo;s product focus was on corn, tomato, rice, and soybean, with further plans to develop crop varieties in other fruits and vegetables.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 The company partnered with the French Centre de coop&eacute;ration Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le D&eacute;veloppement (CIRAD) in February 2011 to research the impact of Meiogenix&rsquo;s SpiX technology on rice genomes.
 
 
 It partnered with Bayer in April 2016, providing Meiogenix&rsquo;s SpiX license for use in crop development. In February 2020, Meiogenix partnered with Bayer again to collaboratively improve its recombination technology.
 
 
 Meiogenix also partnered with Lesaffre in June 2016 to use the former&rsquo;s recombination technology to develop improved industrial yeast strains for Lesaffre&rsquo;s yeast manufacturing. 
 
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Meiogenix

Companies that develop or use biological, physical and chemical agents and techniques to provide protection and improve the quality of a seed. This includes the sale of seed coating, or seed enhancement products as methods to treat seeds.

Companies that redesign large clusters of genes and gene parts rather than modifying or engineering a single gene for improving the traits of a plant.

Companies that utilize genetic engineering tools and technologies to use existing and naturally present gene variants in a plant and the natural process of breeding such as inbreeding, and linebreeding to develop better traits for plants.

Companies that use transgenesis processes like tissue culturing to develop transgenic plants or seeds by inserting new genes into them from other plants or in certain instances other organisms like bacteria or even animals.

Companies that offer techniques such as epigenetics, RNA interference (RNAi) to temporarily block a specific gene that would trigger unwanted effect such as a disease on a plant.

Companies that develop a platform to insert, edit, or delete the DNA of a plant itself using approaches such as CRISPR-Cas 9, TALENs, and Zinc Fingers. These approaches help develop plant genes or seeds with traits such as disease-resistant, enhanced-performance, or improve yield.

Offers customization of genes and traits as required by farmers

Biotech solutions to produce crops that are sustainable and offer better traits

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

<div>
 Inari, a seed gene-editing startup, has raised USD 103 million in the latest funding round, increasing the company's valuation to USD 1.65 billion. The equity fundraising was led by Hanwha Impact and included investments from CPP Investments, Rivas Capital, NGS Super, State of Michigan Retirement System and Flagship Pioneering. New investors, including RCM Private Markets fund, also participated.
 The company will use the funding for the commercialization of its technology. Markets that Inari plans to target first are the US, Canada, and Australia, mainly focusing on row crops including soybeans, corn, and wheat.
 Inari uses "multiplex gene editing," a process incorporating tools like CRISPR and AI-aided predictive design, to bring about natural modifications in the DNA of crops. This method aims to augment crop yields while reducing farming resources.
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Inari

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