Nufarm leads $70m Series C for crop protection startup Enko

Australian agrochemicals company Nufarm, an existing investor, led the round.Based in Connecticut, Enko uses machine learning-based discovery technology and predictive analytics to find new modes of action for treating and protecting crops. In 2020, Enko raised a $45 million Series B round, led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, that was used to advance crop solutions to field testing and regulatory trials. Its agreement with the Gates Foundation requires Enko to simultaneously develop crop treatments for smallholder farmers in emerging markets, whom rarely have access to new farm technologies. Current products include a range of herbicides that are demonstrating breakthrough performance compared to industry standards like glyphosate, which is linked to health issues in humans.Chemical-based crop protections havent changed much over the past few decades. The result is bringing safe and effective products to growers better, faster and cheaper.We were early investors in Enko and have followed the performance of their pipeline in the lab and field over the last two years with increased interest, Nufarm Managing Director and CEO Greg Hunt added.