OlsAro €5M seed funding to scale climate-resilient cereal genetics
OlsAro, the Swedish AgTech company developing climate-resilient cereal genetics, has raised €5 million in seed funding to develop its SeedAX platform and bring its first salinity-resilient wheat product to market.
The round was led by Industrifonden, with Nordic Foodtech VC joining as co-lead. Existing investors Future Food Fund, PINC (Paulig’s venture arm), AgFunder and GU Ventures also participated. The financing follows OlsAro’s €2.5 million pre-seed round in April 2024, bringing the total raised by the Swedish company to date to approximately €7.5 million.
Salinity already affects around a tenth of the world’s cropland. Heat and drought are also putting pressure on cereal production, increasing the need for varieties that can maintain yields under these conditions.
OlsAro develops cereal traits and varieties, with an initial focus on wheat. Its SeedAX platform combines proprietary genetics and data, AI-driven trait discovery and genetic technologies to identify and validate climate-resilience traits, then integrate them into elite germplasm for commercial seed programmes.
OlsAro’s salinity-resilient wheat has shown an up to 41% yield increase over a moderately salt-tolerant variety under saline conditions in Bangladesh. The wheat is now being field-trialled in several global markets.
The recent funding will support international field trials and commercial work with seed-company partners as OlsAro prepares to bring its first product to market. It will also fund further R&D efforts, AI-driven trait discovery and expand the company’s IP portfolio.
New programmes will target drought tolerance and nitrogen-use efficiency, extending the pipeline beyond salinity and heat tolerance. OlsAro also plans to move into other cereal crops, including rice.
