Solasta Bio, a Glasgow-based agritech startup, has successfully secured £10.7m in funding.
- Established in 2021, the company is innovating with peptide-based insecticides.
- The technology aims to efficiently target pests while protecting beneficial insects, such as bees.
- The recent funding round was led by the Dutch venture capital firm Forbion, alongside notable investors.
- Since its inception, Solasta Bio has amassed a total of $19m in investment.
Solasta Bio, headquartered in Glasgow, has made significant strides in the agritech industry by raising £10.7m in its latest funding round. Founded in 2021, this startup is pioneering the development of a peptide-based insecticide that avoids the use of a synthetic chemistry library. The company’s innovative approach is designed to achieve industry-standard efficacy while remaining environmentally friendly. It specifically targets harmful pests without affecting beneficial insect populations such as bees.
The development and promising results of Solasta Bio’s technologies have been highlighted by its co-founder and CEO, Shireen Davies. She stated that the company’s field trials have yielded encouraging outcomes, demonstrating that biopeptides operate with high efficiency against target insect pests. These results indicate the biopeptides’ performance as equal to or exceeding that of standard synthetic insecticides.
The recent funding round, which contributed to the company’s financial growth, was led by Forbion, a Dutch venture capital firm, through its BioEconomy fund. Additional key investors include FMC Ventures and Corteva. According to Joy Faucher, a partner at Forbion BioEconomy, Solasta Bio is well-positioned to revolutionise the crop protection market amid growing challenges such as resistance to traditional insect control agents and biodiversity impacts. The company’s comprehensive expertise in insect neuropeptide modalities and its distinctive tech platform provide a strong foundation for the launch of first-in-class products.
Additional financial support came from investors such as Cavallo Ventures, Rubio Impact Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, UKi2S, SIS Ventures, and the University of Glasgow. This round of support underscores the broad-based confidence in Solasta Bio’s direction and potential. Prior to this, the startup raised £4m in April 2023, bringing its total funding to $19m since establishment.
Solasta Bio is leveraging significant investment to advance sustainable pest control solutions in agriculture.
