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US agri-tech company BioConsortia has raised $15 million in a funding round led by Otter Capital. BioConsortia specialises in the development of advanced microbial products aimed at protecting plants, enhancing fertility and boosting yields, while promoting agricultural sustainability. The funds will be used to expand the development of microbial products designed to increase crop yields through nitrogen or the management of nematode, fungal and soil insect pests. In addition, it will support expanded field trial programmes across key agricultural zones globally. The company said that with recent breakthroughs bolstering BioConsortia's leadership position in microbial gene editing, it also plans to invest in expanding its intellectual property portfolio. Moreover, BioConsortia intends to use the capital to expand its Davis, California, laboratory to accommodate its "growing microbial gene editing team". The funds will be allocated to upgrading fermentation and formulation capabilities at the Davis headquarters. This move aligns with the company's strategy as its biofungicide, bionematicide, postharvest decay control and nitrogen-fixing products approach commercialisation, this year.

Marcus Meadows-Smith, BioConsortia CEO, said: “We have validated the consistency and impact of our nitrogen-fixing seed treatments through hundreds of field trials across a wide array of crops in recent years. This announced investment underlines our confidence that these technologies, with their extended shelf- and on-seed life, set a new standard for nitrogen-fixation products.”