Sustainable agriculture
Businesswire 
Symbrosia aims to scale SeaGraze production rapidly and partner with researchers, ranchers, distributors, and brands to build supply chains that reward producers for producing low-methane animal products.
USA, Kailua-Kona. The livestock feed additive developer Symbrosia has closed out its Series A funding round with $7 million. The natural seaweed feed additive drastically reduces livestock methane emissions and is aimed at promoting the production of low-methane animal products.
According to the company, the startup will use the capital to scale production and bring its feed additive SeaGraze, to market. After two years of research on seaweed breeding and cultivation technology, Symbrosia has developed strains that are significantly more productive, potent and resilient than wild populations.
Founder and CEO Alexia Akbay, a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient for Social Impact in 2022, said, “During the past two years of research, we pushed the boundaries in seaweed breeding to develop high-performing seaweed strains. This Series A funding round marks a critical inflection point where we shift our focus to bringing this innovation to market at scale, as quickly as possible, with strategic partners in Hawaii, California, and the Pacific Northwest.”
The funding round is led by Danone Manifesto Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Danone. Additional investors in the funding round include previous seed investors, Pacific6 and HATCH, new investor, Presidio Ventures, and new Hawaiian investors, Kamehameha Schools and Mana Up, along with individual local investors, farmers, and seaweed enthusiasts.
“The support from Danone Manifesto Ventures and our other investors, existing and new, will enable us to increase seaweed production by a factor of 1,000, round out our team expertise with strategic hires, and put SeaGrazeTM in the hands of visionary companies and livestock producers to create the world’s most sustainable livestock supply chains. Now is our moment to take action on methane,” added Akbay.
Symbrosia completed the world’s first commercial A. taxiformis trial in 2020, testing SeaGraze on an organic farm in Dover Plains, New York, where they confirmed drastic methane reduction. After this successful proof of concept, with scalable production in mind, the company doubled down on research and technological development. During this phase, Symbrosia developed robust A. taxiformis strains that are a core differentiator, substantially improving the pace and unit economics of SeaGraze production.
Source: Symbrosia
