The US$70m Series B funding was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a venture that is fully supported by major billionaires

Singapore-based investment firm Temasek has taken part in the Series B funding for Pivot Bio, a US agriculture startup that combines machine learning and computational modeling to help microbes in providing plants with a daily supply of nitrogen, eliminating pollution in the process. The US$70 million fundraising was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a US$1-billion fund created in 2016 by a group of billionaires including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Jack Ma, as reported by Deal Street Asia.

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With the fresh fund, the company will launch their latest innovation, Pivot Bio PROVEN, which is claimed to be the first and only nitrogen-producing microbes in the US. The company will also focus on overseas expansion and supporting research and development for a seed treatment option, a second-generation product the company is developing.

From Temasek, a Director at Temasek, Dheeraj Mehta, will join Pivot Bio’s board with Cooper Rinzler of Breakthrough Energy.

Previously, Pivot Bio has the support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

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Breakthrough Energy Ventures provides flexible and patient capital for companies with focus in energy innovation area covering electricity, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and buildings with a 20-year horizon of scientific expertise. “Both Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Pivot Bio share the same vision of a more sustainable food system and a commitment to a better planet,” said Karsten Temme, CEO and co-founder of Pivot Bio.

Temasek appointed Goldman Sachs veteran John Vaske to man its American portfolio in 2016. Temasek has also opened second office in the US to support their investments in the country, including in DowDuPont and Boeing, both accounted for the largest portion of Temasek’s new investments according to the fund’s annual review.

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Photo by Eddie Kopp on Unsplash

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