March 12, 2019

The early-stage, impact-focused Copia Agro and Food Technologies Fund announced it has raised $27 million from a range of institutional investors, family offices, and private and corporate investors from Israel, the U.S., the EU, Asia, and Africa.

Founded in 2014, Copia is an Israel-based, privately-owned impact fund co-managed by Ohad Zuckerman, the former CEO of Zeraim Gedera, and Eyal Cohen. Copia invests in technologies addressing key global challenges related to food and agriculture, and works in cooperation with ag and food tech R&D projects, offering funding and hands-on management to develop and grow highly potential projects that offer significant value along the food supply chain.

Focusing on technologies that have passed the proof-of-concept stage, and are two to four years out from commercialization, Copia Agro & Food cooperates with Israel’s leading ag and food research institutions and universities, including the state-owned Agricultural Research Organization (Volcani Center), Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Copia finances the research while focusing it on targeted market requirements, and then partners with industry leaders to commercialize each innovation into viable products for the global market.

“Our hands-on management and early-stage cooperation with industrial partners is advantageous in effectively transitioning technologies into marketable solutions,” said Eyal Cohen, managing partner, Copia. “Our unique business model creates a high return potential. We reduce risk relative to typical early stage funds since we choose technologies that have passed the proof-of-concept stage and our strategic partnerships significantly shorten time to market. We invite prominent agriculture and food companies to collaborate with us in transforming our technologies into profits for a better world.”

Copia has more than doubled its portfolio since 2016, totaling 13 technologies to-date that speak to increasing global food security and safety; reducing environmental degradation caused by modern agriculture; and promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation. So far, seven technologies have been incorporated with industrial partners. Examples include the biological control of phloem-based bacterial diseases such as Citrus Greening, which has decimated Florida’s citrus industry; a wide spectrum soil-disinfectant against noxious organisms and weeds that has the potential to disrupt the multi-billion Methyl Bromide market; a method to eliminate bacterial contamination of dairy products that also increases cheese production efficacy by five to 10 percent; and a biological treatment to prolong the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables, among others.

“Often, products presented to the world by Israeli Ag & Food companies originated in the Israeli academic institutes,” said Ohad Zuckerman, managing partner at Copia. “Our methodology in selecting promising technologies and teaming them with excellent industrial partners is successful. The disruptive technologies in our portfolio will change the way food is grown and processed.”

This unique operating model places the Copia Agro and Food Technologies Fund amid a “Blue Ocean” in a highly dynamic investment space. Year-over-year, investments in ag and food tech startups increased a significant 43 percent to nearly $17 billion, according to the 2018 AgriFood Tech Investing Report, while the number of deals increased by 11 percent. A particular turnaround was seen in regard to early-stage ventures, as Seed stage deals jumped by 14.5 percent and funding levels climbed by 50 percent.

“Humanity’s relationship with food is facing intense challenges and we must act to further sustainability,” said Zuckerman. “Technological innovation is a key element in mitigating these challenges and academic institutions are a main source of innovation.”

Adam Ben-Dror, head of alternatives at Altshuler Shaham, a leading Israeli Investment House with NIS multi-billion under management, and a lead investor in Copia added, “The fund’s unique business model, strong capabilities of its team, and their excellent track-records in developing ideas into viable products, make us confident that their passion and market knowledge will lead COPIA to great success.”

-Lynda Kiernan