Ag Tech Investments News

Herzliya, Israel (March 19th, 2019): COPIA Agro and Food Technologies Fund ("COPIA") today announced it has successfully raised USD 27 million from institutional investors, family offices, private investors and corporates in Israel, Europe, Asia, USA and Africa.

Copia is an impact fund investing in proven technologies addressing key global challenges related to food and agriculture. Its focus is on increasing global food security and safety; reducing environmental degradation caused by modern agriculture; and promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation. Copia cooperates with Israel's leading Agri-food research institutions and universities, such as the state-owned Agricultural Research Organization (Volcani Center), Weizmann Institute of Science and leading universities, such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Copia’s unique operating model positions the fund in a "Blue Ocean." It screens and selects promising scientific projects within research institutes, finances the research while focusing it on specific market requirements, and partners with industrial companies to commercialize the innovations into viable products or processes for global markets.

To date, Copia has created a rich portfolio of 13 technologies, of which seven have been incorporated with industrial partners. For example: biological control of phloem-based bacterial diseases (e.g. Citrus Greening that decimated Florida's citrus industry); a wide spectrum soil-disinfectant against noxious organisms and weeds (to replace the multi-billion Methyl Bromide market); a method to eliminate bacterial contamination of dairy products that also increases cheese production efficacy by 5-10%; a biological treatment to prolong the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables; and more.

Adam Ben-Dror, Head of Alternatives at Altshuler Shaham, a leading Israeli Investment House with NIS multi-billion under management, and a lead investor in Copia stated, "Altshuler Shaham believes in the Agri-Food sector and our investment in Copia opens an opportunity to capitalize on the strong knowhow and IP developed in Israel. The fund's unique business model, strong capabilities of its team, and their excellent track-records in developing ideas into viable products, make us confident that their passion and market knowledge will lead COPIA to great success.”

Ohad Zuckerman, Managing Partner at Copia explained, “Humanity’s relationship with food is facing intense challenges and we must act to further sustainability. Technological innovation is a key element in mitigating these challenges and academic institutions are a main source of innovation. Often, products presented to the world by Israeli Ag & Food companies originated in the Israeli academic institutes. Our methodology in selecting promising technologies and teaming them with excellent industrial partners is successful. The disruptive technologies in our portfolio will change the way food is grown and processed."

Eyal Cohen, Managing Partner at Copia, added, “Our hands-on management and early-stage cooperation with industrial partners is advantageous in effectively transitioning technologies into marketable solutions. Our unique business model creates a high return potential. We reduce risk relative to typical early stage funds since we choose technologies that have passed the proof-of-concept stage and our strategic partnerships significantly shorten time to market. We invite prominent agriculture and food companies to collaborate with us in transforming our technologies into profits for a better world."