Mike Cannon-Brookes, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff back biotech Loam Bio in $40m raise

A biotech Sydney start-up using microbes to accelerate carbon renewal has raised $40m in funding led by tech billionaires including Mike Cannon-Brookes.

A Sydney biotech start-up using microbes to accelerate carbon renewal has raised a $40m Series A funding round led by big name investors.

The start-up, called Loam Bio, is a group of scientists, farmers and entrepreneurs working across Australia and North America on a global mission to remove gigatonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Loam Bio, formerly Soil Carbon Co., has developed a microbial crop seed coating that allows for the stable storage of carbon in the soil, while also boosting soil health and crop yields.

Taking a leading stake in the venture is Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, joined by new and existing investors including Main Sequence, Horizons Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Acre Venture Partners, Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital,and Fiona McKean and Tobi Lütke’s Thistledown Capital.

“We’re in a climate emergency,” Mr Benioff said.

“While reducing emissions around the world is paramount, Loam, with its powerful vision and promising technology, has great potential to play an important part in decarbonising the planet.”

Loam chief executive and co-founder Guy Hudson said: “The time for our technology is now. Microbial carbon removal promises to be a key climate change solution because it is cheap, long-term and scalable.

“Using our naturally-derived products on crops across the globe will give the world the time it needs to adjust to a low carbon economy.

“The entire annual US aviation emissions could be removed if our seed coating was applied to America’s soybean crop.“

The start-up did not disclose its valuation.