Ac-Planta Inc. Successfully Raises 480 Million Yen in Series A Round

Ac-Planta Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kim, Jong-Myong) announces the successful completion of a ¥480 million fundraising through a third-party allocation of shares in its Series A round. The investing companies are as follows:

–Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Partner: Kiba Shosuke)

– IT-Farm Corporation (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kurosaki Morio)

–Norinchukin Innovation Fund L.P. (Operator: Global Brain Corporation)

Purpose

The funds raised this time are primarily aimed at accelerating overseas expansion, with a focus on the United States, and building and strengthening the business and global team structure. Ac-Planta Inc. will actively recruit for positions such as CXO candidates, overseas business development executives, and research management positions in related fields to reinforce its organizational foundation.

Comments

Juichiro Yamaguchi  – Partner, Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd.

Biostimulant technology is developed by Dr. Kim at RIKEN, and UMI believes that it has a firm technological basis. According to the current business plan, it will focus on foreign marketplaces for the future social implementation, for which UMI will support on hands-on basis. As a new investor, UMI wishes that the biostimulant products made by Ac-Planta Inc. would spread in the world and provide a solution for global problems.

Shinya Kasuga – General Partner, IT-Farm Corporation

IT-Farm, Japan’s first cross-border VC since 1999, invests in globally scalable disruptive tech startups across the world and have been supporting Ac-Planta’s global networking since it won our pitch competition event XTC JAPAN. We are excited to invested in Ac-Planta’s Series-A round, appreciating its technological advantage and business development competency penetrating not only into North American resellers but also into local farmers, addressing their crop damage issues deriving from heats and droughts. We are eager to leverage our global executive network in order to further accelerate Ac-Planta’s global business development and fundraising.

Shiraishi Hiroaki – Deputy Director, Digital Innovation Promotion Department, The Norinchukin Bank

Following the previous round, we are pleased to make additional investments in this round. The impact of environmental issues such as global warming and water scarcity on agriculture is significant worldwide. We are confident that Ac-Planta’s product, based on cutting-edge research in plant epigenetics, has the potential to further spread globally. Through this investment, we anticipate not only domestic sales but also expanded sales overseas, contributing to the realization of sustainable agriculture and food production worldwide.

Yukari Nishiyama- Director, Global Brain Corporation

Continuing from the previous funding round, we have invested again in Ac-Planta. As the impact of climate change is becoming increasingly evident in many domains, the impact of extreme weather and water shortage on agriculture is particularly serious. Ac-Planta is tackling agricultural issues head-on by leveraging its strong research and development capabilities related to plant epigenetics. Since our last investment, Ac-Planta has fully embarked on its efforts to expand the business overseas, where a larger market exists. We look forward to seeing Ac-Planta make further strides as it continues to take on the challenge of global expansion.

Kim Jong-Myong – President and CEO, Ac-Planta Inc.

This time, Ac-Planta Inc., under the mission of “Surviving Climate Change Together,” has announced the successful completion of a Series A fundraising of ¥480 million to expand our technological solutions globally, protecting food and the environment in regions suffering from what UN chief Antonio Guterres calls “global boiling.” We have received funding from Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd., IT-Farm Corporation, The Norinchukin bank, and  Global Brain Corporation. As a catalyst for this funding, we will proceed with proof-of-concept tests and technology expansion in the United States, where droughts and heatwaves are becoming increasingly common. Ac-Planta Inc. is committed to working together as a team to address the global challenges of climate change.

For inquiries: info@ac-planta.com