DCVC and Temasek have led a USD430 million Series D funding into Pivot Bio, a nitrogen innovator in agriculture, bringing its total equity raised to more than USD600 million.
The capital will drive the company’s release of products focused on replacing the USD60 billion of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer sold each year to sustain corn, wheat, and rice.
Pivot Bio’s next stage of growth will focus on scaling its US business and expanding internationally. “Pivot Bio exemplifies the power of DeepTech solutions to create equitable and profitable outcomes for all stakeholders in immense industries like agriculture,” said Matt Ocko, co-managing partner of DCVC.
Developed in consultation with farmers, the company’s nutrient measurement tools, grower engagement programs, and a direct-to-farm supply chain adapt to the specific challenges on each farm, and deliver revenue for both Pivot Bio and its farmer partners.
The company aims to serve farmers by simplifying the challenges of managing nitrogen and ensuring resilient farm productivity. “Farmers are able to grow more crops to feed more people, more cost-effectively, while being even better stewards of their land and water. Societies benefit from both more abundant food and more climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture. Pivot Bio has delivered the kind of win-win-win breakthrough DCVC is honored to back, and on which we are focused as a firm,” added Ocko.
Generation Investment Management, G2 Venture Partners, and Rockefeller Capital Management join existing investors in this round, including series-D co-leads DCVC and Temasek; Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the Series B lead and Series C co-lead; Continental Grain Company; Prelude Ventures; Pavilion Capital; Bunge Ventures; Tekfen Ventures; and Roger Underwood, the co-founder of biotech company Becker Underwood.
Pivot Bio introduced the industry’s first commercially available microbial nitrogen in 2019, replacing synthetic nitrogen on more than 1 million crop acres in 2021 – which represents more than 300 percent growth year-over-year.
