Edinburgh University spinout secures £4.5 million to grow tree-boosting fungal tech
“Our results clearly show that planting success can be increased by tapping into the below-ground fertilisation superpowers of fungi” – Toby Parkes, Rhizocore
An Edinburgh-based biotech business that makes fungal pellets to help newly planted trees survive and thrive has secured £4.5 million as it eyes a North American expansion.
The funding injection for Rhizocore Technologies was led by The First Thirty, a specialist investor in technologies to improve soil health. The investment includes participation from Scottish Enterprise, as well as from existing customer The Grosvenor Estate, one of the UK’s largest landowners.
The additional investors in the round are Sand River, Generation-Re (Regenerative Agriculture Syndicate), Kibo Invest, John Thomson and Old College Capital - the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund.
The firm’s technology works by providing saplings with specific fungi. Drawing on one of the world’s largest living fungal libraries, Rhizocore selects the precise, high-performance species for a given site. These fungi form a symbiotic network with the roots, helping trees absorb more nutrients and water.
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) found that treated trees have shown a 97 per cent survival rate compared to 78 per cent for untreated saplings.
Rhizocore, which spun out from the University of Edinburgh and Deep Science Venture’s Food & Agriculture Science Transformer (FAST) programme in 2021, now operates across more than 100 active field sites.
In addition to supporting expansion into North America, where 1.4 billion trees are planted annually, the fresh capital will be used to fund a significant increase in production capacity at the company’s Scottish facility in Roslin to fulfil its growing multi-year order book across the UK and Europe.
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Toby Parkes, founder of Rhizocore, said: “We are excited to be working with both existing and new investors, including several of our customers, who are experts in forestry and soil health.
“The consortium of investors participating in this round is backing our data-driven, nature-first approach to enhance the success of tree planting and the forestry sector. Our results clearly show that planting success can be increased by tapping into the below-ground fertilisation superpowers of fungi.
“The fact that two of our existing customers have invested in this round is a testament to the work the Rhizocore team has put in, developing the knowledge and technology to unlock the potential of fungi to improve their returns. This capital will accelerate our business scaling plans, unlock new markets, and advance our mission of protecting, harnessing, and restoring fungal biodiversity,” he added.
Antony Yousefian, general partner at The First Thirty, said: “Our thesis at The First Thirty is that planetary and human health are one and the same - it all starts with the soil.
“We invest in technologies that unlock the economic value of soil health, and Rhizocore is the perfect example. Their technology demonstrates that enhancing soil biology is not only an ecological benefit, but also a powerful driver of financial returns.”
Derek Shaw, director of entrepreneurship and investment at Scottish Enterprise, added: “This investment not only strengthens Scotland’s position in the global bio-economy but also demonstrates how data-led approaches to soil health can unlock new commercial opportunities while restoring our natural capital and a boost to the environment too.”
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