Interesting Startup Deals You Might Have Missed
Each year, the biggest funding rounds and most well-known investors grab the headlines. However, many intriguing startup deals, often showcasing innovative technologies, go unnoticed. Here’s a roundup of some compelling examples.
Fortifying Plants for Climate Change
Water scarcity is a growing concern worldwide. Elicit Plant, a startup, secured a $48 million Series B round. Their solution involves phytosterol-based products to help crops adapt to climate change impacts like water stress. These solutions, applied as a spray, can reduce water consumption while increasing yields. The company plans to expand its product offerings and geographical reach.
Building Better AI Interactions
CharacterX, a Singapore-based startup, raised $2.8 million in seed funding to foster more meaningful AI interactions. CharacterX’s multimodal AI aims to build augmented social experiences, including 3D modeling, creating an AI companion. The company already boasts over 500,000 users with an average daily usage of 30 minutes.
Weeds Be Gone
Farmers understand that weeds can cut into profit margins. Carbon Robotics, a Seattle-based AI-powered farming startup, aims to eliminate weeds with its LaserWeeder software and hardware – a cutting-edge solution using computer vision, AI deep learning, robotics, and lasers. Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder combines AI and robotics. It uses lasers with millimeter accuracy to zap weeds and is attached to tractors. The company reports its machines can cut weed control costs by 80% while improving crop yields and quality. Carbon Robotics machines are used across North America, Europe, and Australia and have eliminated over 10 billion weeds across 100 crop types.
Power of Water
CorPower Ocean, a Sweden-based startup, secured approximately $35 million in a funding round to commercialize wave energy. The company’s technology is designed to address challenges of wave energy, like storm survivability and efficient power generation. Their project already demonstrated success during Atlantic storms: perhaps ocean wave generation could be one of the future clean energy sources.
Allergy Protection in Your Pocket
With a significant number of people managing food allergies, Allergen detection company Amulet created the Allergy Amulet, a portable device that tests for food allergens on the go. The device uses sensors to find allergens, toxins, and contaminants, providing peace of mind for allergy sufferers.
Seedless Blackberries
Pairwise Plants is a gene-editing company focused on improving plant breeding. They aim specifically to develop seedless berries and pitless cherries. Pairwise closed a $40 million Series C. The company’s technology has already developed a seedless blackberry variety and aims to make crops more resilient during climate change. Their collaboration with Corteva Agriscience will accelerate the pace of gene-editing technologies.
Check Your Eyes
Eyebot, a Boston-based startup, secured $6 million in funding to build an AI-powered kiosk network for 90-second vision exams, eliminating the need for a traditional eye appointment. Eyebot is rolling out its kiosks in various locations, offering a convenient solution to optometry labor shortages.
Voice Clues
Canary Speech, an AI-powered voice biomarker healthtech startup, raised $13 million in a Series A round. Their technology analyzes speech data to identify irregularities in behavioral and cognitive changes, allowing early detection of illnesses like anxiety, depression, and dementia.
Making it Rain
Rainmaker Technology, an El Segundo, California-based startup, raised a $6.3 million seed round to develop cloud seeding techniques, with a focus on weather modification to generate rainfall.
Cleaning up Space
Though this falls outside the norm for this list, D-Orbit, an Italian space startup, raised over $108 million to provide space logistics and debris cleanup solutions. Furthermore, D-Orbit looks to help with the issue of overcrowding in space by helping to move satellites, or returning them to earth.
