Catalera BioSolutions (“Catalera”), a pioneering innovator in biological pest control solutions, today announced the initial close of its Series A funding round. Launched mid-May, Catalera is an independent company spun out from Terramera, an ag-tech company based in Vancouver.
The launch of Catalera is made possible through a US$8M investment round led by S2G Ventures (“S2G”), with follow-up investment from Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Capital, and a second and final close expected in Q4 of 2024.
Catalera creates innovative biological products using a purpose-built toolkit of patented technologies to overcome the core challenges that have so far prevented the broad based adoption of biological products. Building on a solid foundation from existing commercial products including: RANGO® for specialty crops, SOCORO® for row crops, Vaporpad® for professional bed bug treatment and the recent registration of TRIFECTO® in Mexico, the company is well positioned to deploy several new biological products over the next few years and substantially grow its portfolio.
The $70 billion synthetic chemistry industry for agriculture and consumer pest control is facing significant challenges stemming from nearly a century of overreliance on synthetic chemicals. This has created far-reaching impacts in the world including food security risks, soil and water damage, and negative effects on human health.
“Consumers, government, and industry, including the world’s largest agriculture companies, are wanting to move to biologicals. But natural solutions need a helping hand to meet the needs of industry, growers, and consumers. As an experienced and agile company, Catalera holds the keys to unlocking the potential of biologicals and making a major impact in agriculture and beyond,” said Matthew Dahabieh, CEO of Catalera.“ Our team has been developing safe, effective, and cost-competitive biological products for over a decade. We have launched numerous products with leading partners, and have an exciting pipeline of new products in development, which this new funding will help us get to market.”
“We are at a pivotal moment in the biologicals market. The convergence of global events leading to severe supply chain disruptions, as well as growing concerns around the impacts of fertilizer use, are causing many farmers to reevaluate their approach,” said Sanjeev Krishnan, managing partner at S2G. “We believe Catalera's distinctive platform capabilities for unlocking biological formulation and cutting-edge product portfolio signals a promising future for the industry. We look forward to supporting them in their mission.”
This is FCC Capital’s first investment by the newly created arm at the Canadian lender that is proud to be 100% invested in Canadian agriculture and food.
"FCC is thrilled to announce our first co-investment in Catalera BioSolutions alongside S2G, which has a decade of experience investing in the global food and agtech space. This transaction aligns with FCC's commitment to build a capital solutions platform which delivers impactful financing for innovative companies with the potential to advance the Canadian food and agriculture industry," said Justine Hendricks, FCC president and CEO. "We are excited to support Catalera BioSolutions and leverage our expertise, data, and relationships to help them grow and succeed."
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