Scientifica VC and Terra Next invest 200,000 euros in PlantBit

Scientifica Venture Capital is investing in PlantBit and its biosensor capable of revolutionising sustainable agriculture. Joining Scientifica in the investment is Terra Next , an acceleration programme dedicated to innovative start-ups and SMEs in the bio-economy sector.

Terra Next is an initiative of CDP Venture Capital, with the participation of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center as co-deviser and promoter and the support of Cariplo Factory, which operationally manages the programme.

Thanks to its technology, Plantbit, an agritech start-up spin-off of the National Research Council (CNR), won a 200,000 euro round.

The PlantBit team has developed Bioristor, a biosensor (organic electrochemical transistor, OECT) that monitors the health conditions of plants in real time, providing precise data on their actual needs, such as their requirements for water, nutrients and phytosanitary treatments (image taken from the start-up’s website). Bioristor’s technology is protected by an international patent, exclusively licensed to PlantBit, owned by the CNR and is the result of scientific research conducted by the Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM) in Parma. In a global context in which climate change and growing demand for food are putting the agricultural sector under pressure, Bioristor is a key ally in the transition towards a more sustainable agriculture. The biosensor developed by the start-up, once inserted into the stem of plants and connected to an IoT control unit that transmits the signal to an app, detects the onset of water stress and sends a warning to the farmer or operating machinery, indicating that it is time to irrigate. Thanks to this technology, farmers can intervene promptly, optimising the use of water resources, reducing water wastage by up to 40 per cent and increasing production efficiency.

PlantBit’s technology fits into the landscape of Agriculture 4.0, an industry that aims to maximise agricultural yields while minimising the use of natural resources, with a particular focus on water. Considering that agriculture now uses 70% of global water resources, the adoption of technologies such as Bioristor is crucial to ensure a sustainable future.

“Thanks to this investment, we will accelerate the pre-industrialisation and finalisation of Bioristor, bringing to market a technology that will help reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, responding to global challenges related to food security,” says Riccardo D’Alessandri, managing partner of Scientifica Venture Capital, in a note.

‘The investment in PlantBit is linked to the high potential impact that the Bioristor device could have in agriculture and in optimising the use of water resources,’ says Stefano Molino, senior partner and head of CDP Venture Capital’s Accelerators Fund. ‘We are very proud that the company has managed to attract the attention of other investors such as Scientifica, and we look forward to continuing this growth path together.

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