Kagome and SVG Ventures Launch $50 Million Fund to Support Agricultural Innovation

Kagome Co., Ltd., through its U.S. subsidiary GARBiC USA LLC, has partnered with Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm SVG Ventures to launch a new corporate venture capital fund aimed at fostering innovation in agriculture. The SVG Ventures Sunrise Fund, with $50 million under management and a 10-year investment horizon, will focus on early-stage investments in agricultural technologies.

Kagome, a company with a history dating back to 1899, has been significantly impacted by challenges such as climate change, heat waves, droughts, and crop diseases. The company aims to address these issues by strengthening its agricultural value chain through sustainable and innovative solutions. The partnership with SVG Ventures, a well-known platform in agri-food innovation, is seen as a key step in achieving this goal.

John Hartnett, Founder & CEO of SVG Ventures, emphasized the importance of combining Kagome’s agricultural expertise with SVG’s experience in agri-food technologies to support startups that can transform the agricultural sector. Hiroyuki Ueda, from Kagome’s Global Agri Research & Business Center, highlighted the need for innovation to address the pressing challenges facing agriculture today.

The Sunrise Fund will target early-stage startups, with initial investments ranging between $0.5 million to $1 million, and will focus on developing technologies such as drought- and heat-resistant crops. Kagome’s U.S. operations, including Ingomar Packing Company and United Genetics Seed Company, will support this initiative by helping validate and implement the solutions developed by these startups.