On Wednesday, Dayton-based agtech startup Global Neighbor announced $1.1M in investment, with nearly $1M more expected in the next 90 days.<\/p>\n
A growing innovation leader in developing clean, environmentally friendly Directed Energy (DE) solutions to combat weeds for both homeowners and farmers, global Neighbor announced the signing of a Lead Investor Agreement with Innova Memphis, a globally recognized early-stage venture capital firm focused on starting and funding high-growth companies in the bioscience, technology, and AgTech fields.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a significant accomplishment and I\u2019m surprised at how quickly the first financing round came together. I\u2019m very proud to be entering this elite phase of our funding journey that will accelerate rapid growth of our company in 2022,\u201d Global Neighbor founder and president Jon Jackson said.<\/p>\n
Led by Innova Memphis and Partner Dean Didato, the current investment round has already captured more than $1.1M in the initial closing and the firm expects to secure another investment in the next 90 days to satisfy the first equity financing of $2M.<\/p>\n
Innova Memphis has a track record of successful exits including AgriSync, Growers Holdings, Arkis Biosciences, and ExtraOrtho Inc., and the firm was recognized as #5 on the 2021 AgFunder AgriFoodTech Investment Report’s list of Most Active Venture Capital Fund Managers and the most active VC investor in the state of Tennessee in Tech Startups\u2019 list of the Top Venture Capital Firms.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlobal Neighbor has facilitated this financing in a relatively short period, which is impressive for the sector and the stage of the firm,” Didato said. “Innova is confident that the enthusiasm around Global Neighbor\u2019s weed eradicating products will generate broader interest from additional investors moving forward. We are proud to be a partner in promoting this truly innovative technology which will have a positive impact on future farming and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The equity financing round of investors included Ag Ventures Alliance, a nationally recognized farmer-owned organization formed to make early-stage investments in technologies that enhance on-farm profitability, and Clean Energy Venture Group, an investment group providing seed capital and management expertise to early-stage clean energy companies.<\/p>\n
Prior to this round, Global Neighbor has received approximately $3.8M in grant funding over the last seven years, including Small Business Innovation Research grants from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Phase I of the USDA\u2019s SBIR grants are awarded to just 10% of the applicants, and in 2020, Global Neighbor was one of only three Ohio-based companies awarded the $100K grant. Invited to apply for a phase II grant in 2021, Global Neighbor was the only Ohio-based company selected to receive the $650K award, which is actively in use to develop and commercialize its Weed Seed Destroyer product.<\/p>\n
Global Neighbor has successfully developed multiple products and continues to lead the way in environmentally friendly weed control with a collection of seven issued utility patents and five pending patents. Unlike chemical-based herbicides, Global Neighbor’s products utilize its clean, patented Directed Energy technologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cDirected Energy weed control kills weed seeds, seedlings, and unwanted plants using dual-wavelength, unnatural illumination sources applied at high intensity for short duration, eliminating the need for harmful herbicides,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n
Currently, Global Neighbor offers Directed Energy weed control solutions for residential and agricultural applications, each having its own system solution and light blend to address its needs.<\/p>\n
For homeowners wanting to safely control weeds in their lawns and gardens, there is the affordable handheld WeedErase. Licensed to Viatek Consumer Products Group, WeedErase is available for purchase online at Amazon and NatureZap.com, and at popular retailers like Sharper Image, Home Depot, and Walmart.<\/p>\n
For farmers, the company is hard at work developing its Weed Seed Destroyer, which will attach to a combine harvester to destroy weed seeds at harvest.<\/p>\n