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Puna Bio raises Series A with Gates Foundation investment to expand climate-resilient agriculture
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Kira Colburn
Kira Colburn

SOSV-backed portfolio company and IndieBio graduate Puna Bio, an Argentinian startup harnessing extremophiles—microbes that thrive in Earth’s harshest environments—to help crops withstand climate extremes, has secured a major new backer in its Series A: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Gates Foundation joins existing Series A backers including Corteva Catalyst, which led the round, and At One Ventures. The new capital will fuel Puna’s global expansion and the development of biological products tailored to the specific needs of smallholder farmers in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The funding will accelerate the development, production, and distribution of Puna Bio’s biofertilizers and biostimulants, which are based on extremophile bacteria. These solutions are designed to enhance crop yields even under stress, reduce fertilizer use, and enable farming on degraded soils.

Puna Bio will work closely with the Gates Foundation to test and adapt its technologies to local conditions and co-develop new targeted solutions to strengthen sustainable food systems, support food security, and support climate resilience on a global scale.

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