Zurich, Switzerland, 23 March 2022 – Blue Horizon, a pure play impact investor in the future of food, today announces its investment in Syocin Biotech, a synthetic biology startup focusing on improving food availability and protecting crop production in balance with Nature.
Blue Horizon today announced a Seed portfolio investment in Syocin, a cutting-edge biotechnology company developing high-precision, non-toxic, fully bio-degradable protein-based solutions to protect food crops from bacterial diseases. Blue Horizon co-invested in Syocin with the LATAM biotech fund GRIDX and the European GISEV Family Office, anticipating Syocin’s Seed round that will be opened in the coming months.
Syocin is developing a proprietary Synthetic Biology Platform capable of designing and building high-precision bactericidal proteins to develop each new biobactericide in a significantly accelerated timeline of months, not years. Their #1 generation of biobactericides are focused on eliminating different bacteria affecting citrus and tomatoes but they envision having the capability to provide fast-response to any plant bacterial disease, even new unknown ones.
Kieran Mahanty, Investment Director at Blue Horizon, said: “Bacterial diseases such as Citrus Canker are a major threat to global food production. To date there are few effective solutions and none which are kind to the environment and the health of farm workers. Syocin’s biological approach has shown great early results and we are excited to support the team in scaling up their synthetic biology platform.”
Julia Roulet, Co-founder of Syocin, said: “We are focused on improving the way food is produced and the relationship that production systems have with Nature. We do this by developing cutting-edge Synbio platform to design and build precision proteins which eliminate harmful bacteria efficiently while preserving soil microbiomes and the natural ecosystem. Receiving Blue Horizon’s backing is a major milestone in our ambition to replace harmful chemicals with precision biology, delivering healthier food to all. We are working towards becoming the leaders in the development of high-precision biobactericidal technologies.”
To date, Blue Horizon has raised funds of over $850 million and invested in 60+ companies with a focus on protein alternatives and food tech. Some of the firm’s recent investments include Tomorrow Foods, a plant protein processing innovator, Planted, an alternative meat start-up, Mosa Meat, which is developing tissue engineering technologies to mass produce affordable, cultured meat and AgBiome, the leader in developing innovative products from the Earth’s microbial communities.
About Blue Horizon
Blue Horizon is accelerating the transition to a New Sustainable Food System that delivers outstanding returns for investors and the planet. The company is a global pioneer of the Future of Food. As a pure play impact investor, Blue Horizon has shaped the growth of the alternative protein and food tech market. The company invests at the intersection of biology, agriculture and technology with the aim to transform the global food industry. Blue Horizon was founded by Roger Lienhard in 2016 and is based in Zurich. To date, the company has raised over USD 850 million and invested in more than 60 companies. Its business model offers an attractive opportunity to invest in the evolution of the global food system while contributing to a healthy and sustainable world. www.bluehorizon.com
About Syocin
Syocin is revolutionizing the way in which plant bacterial diseases are treated and cured. The ag-biotech global startup was founded in 2019 in Rosario, Argentina with a base also in California, U.S. Syocin is pioneering the development of a proprietary Synthetic Biology Platform capable of designing and building high-precision bactericidal proteins to develop each biobactericide solution in a very short period of time taking months instead of years. The company’s purpose is to improve food availability and protecting crop production in balance with Nature. Today, the company is focused on eliminating different bacteria affecting citrus and tomatoes but envisions having the capability to provide fast-response to any plant bacterial disease, even new ones that are still unknown to us. www.syocin.com
