This week in NatureTech #26

🐘 Long Read (1 Min Read)

The eDNA market map

In case you missed it, there was big news in the NatureTech community this week.

NatureMetrics raised a whopping $25Mn in Series B for its nature intelligence platform

It’s an important milestone for the maturation of the NatureTech space. The deal joins bumper deals from Inari ($103M), Basecamp Research ($60M) at the end of last year.

But… we wouldn’t blame you for scratching your head when you hear the term eDNA

At its simplest Environmental DNA, or eDNA for short, is genetic material that organisms leave behind in their environment - think of it as nature's fingerprints.

Just like we shed hair and skin cells, animals and plants leave traces of their DNA in water, soil, and air.

Scientists can now collect and analyse these DNA traces to identify which species are present in an area without ever having to spot them directly.

Benefits include:

• Cost-effective: Requires less field time and cost than traditional methods

• Comprehensive: Can detect multiple species from a single sample if they are in the reference databases

• Sensitive: Can detect rare or elusive species that are hard to spot

It’s not a silver bullet and the technology still has some drawbacks, which you can explore in our suggested reading below.

But…

… when combined with advances in bioacoustics, satellite and drone based imaging, and the algorithms that process all that data…

…eDNA can unlock deep quantification of biodiversity.

For Nature: This is a critical enabler for financiers to confidently allocate capital to companies which are effectively managing their biodiversity risks.

Interested in finding the next NatureMetrics?

We pulled together a list of 20+ other start-ups working on eDNA or eRNA

We divided them like this:

🧬 1. Product Focus: Manufacturers of sequencing equipment, collection kits, and sampling devices needed for eDNA analysis.

💻 2. Software Focus: Developers of bioinformatics platforms and data analysis tools that process and interpret eDNA sequencing data.

↔️ 3. Integrated Solutions: Offer end-to-end eDNA capabilities, from sample collection through to data analysis and reporting.

We have a deep dive in the works where we analyse these companies further…

… but until then we recommend checking out the following resources 📖:

• An introduction to the science (Here)

• Our post: 8 points on the good, the bad and the ugly of eDNA (Here)

• Check out the list of eDNA players in our NatureTech database (Here)

Know someone we should be talking to for our deep dive? Let us know by replying to this email!

💬 Snippets for your lift conversations

💼 Big business:

• Google, Microsoft, others invest $300m in crushed rocks as CO2 removal solution (Read more)

• Solar developer RES claims one of their solar farm sites could power up to 15,000 homes while delivering significant biodiversity improvements. (Read more)

• Three companies put their impacts on nature under a microscope. Here’s what they found (Read more)

• Octopus Energy swoops for 'agrivoltaics' solar developer OX2 France (Read more)

🏦 Finance:

• Schroders Capital plans to focus more on natural capital, biodiversity, and regenerative agriculture as investment themes in 2025. (Read more)

🌴 Tech

• In rural India, millions of farmers are leading a quiet revolution in climate resilience. Armed with AI-powered weather forecasts, they're making smarter decisions about when and what to plant. (Read more)

• From bullet trains to green buildings: Innovators take cue from nature through biomimicry (Read more)

📖 Research:

• Environmentalists condemn unauthorised lynx rewilding in Scotland as ‘reckless’ and ‘highly irresponsible’. (Read more)

• In El Valle, the world’s second-most expensive spice is not just providing an economic lifeline but also helping to preserve rich biodiversity (Read more)

📝 Policy:

• National Trust marks 130th birthday by unveiling 10-year strategy to restore nature, both on their own land and beyond their boundaries. (Read more)

• UK Government is facing scrutiny from the environmental watchdog over its efforts to comply with statutory standards for seas and coastlines. (Read more)

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🎣 Deals

• 🇮🇪 XOCEAN raised $118.6M (Late VC) for their autonomous marine vessels that collect ocean data Source

• 🇳🇱 Cradle Bio raised $73M (Series B) for AI-powered protein engineering Source

• 🇬🇧 Nature Metrics raised $25M (Series B) for eDNA and Nature Intelligence Source

• 🇮🇱 Fermata raised $10M (Series A) for their AI-driven computer vision solutions for agriculture Source

• 🇳🇱 Kilter raised €9M (Series A) for precision weeding technology Source

• 🇮🇳 WayCool raised $4.4M (Late VC) for their food supply chain transformation using technology Source

• 🇺🇸 Rebellyous Foods raised $2.4M (Series B) for their plant-based chicken alternatives Source

• 🇮🇳 Moonrider raised $2.2M (Seed) for their electric tractors for sustainable farming Source

• 🇰🇷 Tidepool raised $1M (Series A) for their AI-driven aquaculture solutions Source

• 🇪🇸 Phoenix Foods raised $358K (Pre-Seed) for their organic waste to insect-powered fertilizers Source

• 🇮🇹 PlantBit raised $206K (Seed) for their smart farming sensor technology Source

• 🇪🇸 B’ZEOS raised (Seed) for seaweed-based packaging Source

• 🇮🇩 HiFeed raised (Pre-Seed) for their methane-reducing cattle feed technology Source

• 🇨🇦 Innova Cleantech Corp. raised (Seed) for their methane-to-hydrogen and carbon conversion technology Source

💭 Little Bytes

📊Read: Scientists discovered 190 new species in 2024, including Patagona chaski, the world's largest hummingbird, found in the Andes Read more

📺️Watch: Brazil startup partners with agro firm to reforest degraded Amazon land Read more

💬 Research: Mycoheterotrophy highlights overlooked mycorrhizal interactions crucial for forest functioning. Read more

💼 Jobs

Start-up:

• Multiple roles, Planet A Foods, Germany (Apply)

• Multiple Roles, Ulysses, USA (Apply)

• Software Engineer, Cecil, Australia (Apply)

• Backend Engineer, Landbanking Group, Germany (Apply)

• Sales Development Representative, Arbonics, Remote (Apply)

• Multiple roles, Space Intelligence, Edinburgh (Apply)

• Commercial Director, Space for Good (Apply)

• Back End Engineer, Credit Nature (Apply)

Corporate:

• Product Manager - Climate, Nature and Sustainability Regulations, Bloomberg, London (Apply)

• Climate, Nature and Social Risk Modelling Vice President, JP Morgan, London (Apply)

• Nature Based Solutions Specialist, Mott MacDonald, London (Apply)

• Climate Consultant (Biodiversity & Nature), Ecoact, London, (Apply)

• Nature-Based Solutions, Subject Matter Expert, Ramboll, USA, (Apply)