As part of our Sacramento Inno coverage of the startup, technology and innovation economy, the Business Journal has compiled a list of startups to watch in the new year. These startups are poised to make big moves, either in growth, funding, technology or development. We're highlighting 15 startups, generally with fewer than 100 employees, about 5 years old or less and that have raised less than $50 million.
Davis-based NuCicer Inc. is a food technology company that is preparing to bring its nutritious products to market this year.
The 2019 startup used cross-breeding of wild chickpea genetics with elite commercial strains to develop its strains of chickpea that have 75% more protein than the standard commercially cultivated legumes. The company’s chickpeas are not genetically modified organisms.
In November, NuCicer got a $7 million funding round led by Leaps by Bayer. That followed on a $4 million seed round of funding that closed in March led by New York-based venture capital firm Lever VC. The funding will help the company bring its chickpea products to market, said co-founder and CEO Kathryn Cook. Leaps by Bayer is the impact investing arm of German chemical and agricultural giant Bayer AG.
NuCicer’s other co-founder and chief technology officer is Douglas Cook, Kathryn’s father and a professor at University of California Davis.
NuCicer is now working with farming networks to grow its cultivar, and then the company will sell them whole or as flour or other products that can be made into alternative meat or dairy products. Commercial chickpeas are water efficient and have the ability to fix nitrogen, which are sustainable traits. NuCicer is enhancing its strains with climate-friendly traits like acidic soil, heat and drought tolerance, as well as resistance to disease.
