Pontifax AgTech Management, an investor in the food and agriculture sector, has held a final closing of its first fund, Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund LP (Fund I), with total capital commitments of $105 million. The limited partners in the new fund include financial institutions, university endowments, investment firms, large-scale growers and family offices.
Pontifax AgTech invests broadly across the food and agriculture technology sector with specific interests in food and nutrition, life sciences, information technology, precision farming, and supply chain.
The closing of Fund I follows the fund’s successful exit from Blue River Technology, a next-generation robotic crop management platform which was acquired by Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) for $305 million in September 2017. Blue River Technology is based in Sunnyvale, CA (www.bluerivertechnology.com).
“We are very pleased to bring our fundraising to a successful close. The overwhelmingly positive response to the fund by a wide range of investors reflects growing investor enthusiasm for the AgTech sector,” said Ben Belldegrun, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Pontifax AgTech. “Our recent exit from Blue River Technology underscores the value of growth stage investments in the space, and we are pleased that investors are recognizing the compelling trends and sustainability benefits from AgTech investing.”
Pontifax AgTech currently has four portfolio companies: AgBiome, a developer of agriculture technology related to soil-borne diseases of greenhouse and major row crops based in Research Triangle Park, NC (www.agbiome.com); Conservis, a provider of farming ERP software based in Minneapolis (www.conserviscorp.com); Caribou Biosciences, a CRISPR gene editing technology platform based in Berkeley, CA (www.cariboubio.com); and Anuvia, a manufacturer of plant nutrient products developed from municipal organic materials based near Orlando in Zellwood, FL (www.anuviaplantnutrients.com).
“Food demand is increasing dramatically, with global population trending to 10 billion by 2050 and increasing per-capita consumption. In contrast, the agriculture supply chain is confronted by declining resources and increasing sustainability pressures. Significant innovation is critical to address these market dynamics,” said Phil Erlanger, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Pontifax AgTech. “We see numerous opportunities to invest in disruptive technologies which add value to the agricultural supply chain. We are excited to play an instrumental role in supporting the growth of disruptive AgTech businesses which improve one of the largest and most important industries in the world.”
Pontifax AgTech was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Santa Monica (www.pontifaxagtech.com). The firm is part of the Pontifax Group, a life sciences investment firm based in Herzeliya, Israel that was founded by Eli Hurvitz in 2004 and has invested in more than 45 portfolio companies across four different funds (www.pontifax.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | October 18, 2017