Fertilizer producer ICL, Tel Aviv, and Evogene Ltd., Rehovot, Israel, an agriculture biologicals company, on Aug. 16 announced a multi-year strategic collaboration agreement between ICL and Lavie Bio Ltd., Rehovot, a subsidiary of Evogene. The collaboration will focus on developing biostimulant products to enrich fertilizer efficiency.
Lavie Bio focuses on improving food quality, sustainability, and agriculture productivity through the introduction of microbiome-based products. It uses Evogene’s tech engine MicroBoost AI, leveraging big-data and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) in combination with a deep understanding of biology.
As part of the collaboration, ICL will make a $10 million investment in Lavie Bio under a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity). The investment will be made via ICL Planet Startup Hub, which is the platform ICL uses to invest in and collaborate with food and agriculture technology domains.