InnerPlant Closes $30 Million Series B Round

InnerPlant, a seed-technology startup based in Davis, California, has successfully raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. The investment was led by Coutts Agro, a North American agricultural operator and investor. Other notable contributors include Systemiq Capital, Deere & Company, and Bison Ventures, with the latter two having previously supported InnerPlant.

InnerPlant, founded by Shely Aronov, specializes in genetically engineered plants capable of signaling various types of stress, such as nutrient deficiencies, fungal infections, and pest damage. Their flagship products include InnerSoy, InnerCorn, and InnerCotton. These plants can transmit stress signals detectable from significant distances, potentially providing farmers with advanced warnings of up to three weeks before traditional technologies.

The newly acquired funds will facilitate the expansion and scaling of InnerPlant’s CropVoice solution, which will be available to farmers and retailers starting in 2025. The investment will also support continued research and development for new stress indicators and the introduction of additional crop varieties, including corn.

Matt Coutts, Chief Investment Officer at Coutts Agro and a board member of InnerPlant, commented on the investment’s significance, noting that the technology could potentially enhance agricultural productivity rather than merely redistributing existing value. He emphasized that InnerPlant’s approach to providing real-time data on plant stress could transform crop management and improve profitability for farmers.

In addition to the funding, InnerPlant has partnered with GROWMARK to pilot its InnerSoy technology in Southern Illinois. The company has also collaborated with John Deere and Syngenta to develop a precision agriculture platform that integrates InnerPlant’s fungal sensors with John Deere’s See & Spray technology. This system utilizes fluorescent light signals to detect plant diseases.

Gary Schaefer, previously with Syngenta, has joined InnerPlant to further its commercialization efforts. InnerPlant aims to address inefficiencies in current agricultural practices by reducing unnecessary chemical applications and enhancing crop health through early detection and targeted interventions.