Ag Tech Investments News
Kureha Invests in US Startup Boost Biomes
Tokyo, Japan, and South San Francisco, California, February 2020 – Kureha Corporation announced that it has made a seed investment in California, US based Boost Biomes Inc., via its wholly-owned subsidiary Kureha America Inc..
Boost Biomes is an early-stage startup, which develops microbial products. The company has a microbiome discovery platform, a proprietary technology exclusively licensed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Their unique platform technology enables the company to identify interactions among members of a microbiome and quickly screen combinations of different microbes that yield desired effects suitable for use in various fields such as bio-fungicides and food preservatives.
With this investment in Boost Biomes, Kureha will leverage their innovative technology to address social issues and to contribute to human’s healthier lifestyles, with the aim of expanding its business portfolio.
Under the mid-term management plan ‘Kureha’s Challenge 2020’, Kureha is actively exploring business opportunities in Japan and globally and accelerating business development with external resources. As a part of this initiative, Boost Biomes represents the first seed-stage investment.
“Kureha is seeking new opportunities for joint development with or investment in early-stage startups with strong strategic fit to us in its value proposition. Through this open innovation activity, we will keep working to generate a number of potential new business seeds. This strategic partnership with Boost Biomes can accelerate creating innovative products,” said Naomitsu Nishihata, President of Kureha America.
Boost Biomes’ CEO, Jamie Bacher, said, “This investment from Kureha emphasizes that Boost has now demonstrated the path from discovery to commercial opportunity. Our proprietary technology platform enables our global commercial and co-development partners opportunities to generate novel, highly-effective microbial products that are natural, organic and safe.”
Source: https://www.kureha.co.jp/