An agriculture technology firm headquartered in the Dayton area has raised over $1 million in venture capital, and more funding is on the horizon.
Global Neighbor Inc. (GNI), a Xenia-based developer of clean, environmentally friendly directed energy (DE) solutions used by homeowners and farmers to combat weeds, recently signed a lead investor agreement with Innova Memphis — an early-stage venture capital firm located in Memphis, Tennessee.
Led by Innova Memphis and Partner Dean Didato, the current investment round has already captured around $1.1 million in the initial closing, and the firm expects to secure another investment in the next 90 days to satisfy the first equity financing of $2 million.
“This is a significant accomplishment and I’m surprised at how quickly the first financing round came together," GNI President and Founder Jon Jackson said. "I’m very proud to be entering this elite phase of our funding journey that will accelerate rapid growth of our company in 2022."
Innova, focused on starting and funding high-growth companies in the bioscience, technology and AgTech fields, is among the most active venture capital investors in the state of Tennessee. In 2021, the company was No. 5 on the list of Most Active Venture Capital Fund Managers in the 2021 AgFunder AgriFoodTech Investment Report, and the most active VC investor in the state of Tennessee in Tech Startups’ list of the Top Venture Capital Firms.
“Global Neighbor has facilitated this financing in a relatively short period, which is impressive for the sector and the stage of the firm," Didato said. "Innova is confident that the enthusiasm around GNI’s weed eradicating products will generate broader interest from additional investors moving forward. We are proud to be a partner in promoting this truly innovative technology which will have a positive impact on future farming and the environment.”
The equity financing round of investors included Ag Ventures Alliance, a farmer-owned organization formed to make early-stage investments in technologies that enhance on-farm profitability, and Clean Energy Venture Group, an investment group providing seed capital and management expertise to early-stage clean energy companies.
Prior to this round, GNI received approximately $3.8 million in grant funding over the last seven years, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Phase I of the USDA’s SBIR grants are awarded to just 10% of the applicants, and in 2020 GNI was one of only three Ohio-based companies awarded the $100,000 grant. Invited to apply for a phase II grant in 2021, GNI was the only Ohio-based company selected to receive the $650,000 award, which is actively in use to develop and commercialize its Weed Seed Destroyer product.
GNI has developed multiple products and has a collection of seven issued utility patents along with five pending patents. Unlike chemical-based herbicides, GNI’s products utilize clean directed energy technologies.
“DE weed control kills weed seeds, seedlings and unwanted plants using dual-wavelength, unnatural illumination sources applied at high intensity for short duration, eliminating the need for harmful herbicides,” Jackson said.
Currently, GNI offers DE weed control solutions for residential and agricultural applications, each having its own system solution and light blend to address its needs. For homeowners wanting to safely control weeds in their lawns and gardens, there is the handheld WeedErase. Licensed to Viatek Consumer Products Group, WeedErase is available for purchase online at Amazon and GNI’s NatureZap.com, and at retailers such as Sharper Image, Home Depot and Walmart. For farmers, the company is developing its Weed Seed Destroyer, which will attach to a combine harvester to destroy weed seeds at harvest.
GNI is a client of the Entrepreneurs' Center, a Dayton-based resource group for tech startups, small businesses and research institutes.
"The completion of a first close is a milestone moment for any startup and we are excited to celebrate this win with GNI," Entrepreneurs' Center President Scott Koorndyk said. "It’s been a privilege for the EC to guide them through the process. But it’s also a victory for the planet and farmers as they will benefit greatly from the future commercialization of GNI’s innovative and eco-friendly products currently in development.”
