Confidence of Chemistry, Opportunities of Biologicals: Vive Crop Protection Gets $26 Million Investment

Vive Crop Protection has closed its Series C investment round with $26 million. 

Based in Toronto, Vive has focused on the North American market, particularly in row crops. Darren Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Vive Crop Protection says the funding will be directly applied to accelerate commercial growth for its products along with supporting its R&D pipeline. 

“This investment will fuel product innovation,” Anderson says. “We are working with existing chemistries and existing biologicals and bringing products to the market at a higher velocity than any one else.”

Vive’s product portfolio is being built using its Allosperse proprietary nano-polymer technology to optimize the performance of the product from its storage, through application and into the soil and plant uptake.

A little more than a year after receiving EPA approval on AZterknot, a fungicide built with biological, chemical and nano technology, the 2022 product use totaled more than 50,000 U.S. acres. 

Anderson says AZterknot demonstrates Vive’s ability to deliver both biologicals and synthetic active ingredients in a single jug.

The company has seven commercially available products, which were used on more than 2 million acres of U.S. farmland in 2022. 

“We do a survey every year, and 97% of customers says they will use a Vive product again,” Anderson says. 

To support its growth goals, the company has expanded with additional sales representation—growing from its Midwest and Pacific North West footprints to span across the southeast and southwest.

“We work really closely with retailers and distribution to make sure products are properly positioned—most of our products are applied at plant or foliar,” Anderson says. 

Today, about 40% of Vive product’s are applied on corn, with the balance going on sugar beets, potatoes, cotton and peanuts. 

Looking ahead, Anderson says the company has a goal of launching five products every year starting in 2025, but first three products are coming in 2024. 

“We are a unique company with unique products, but for retailers, we can help them differentiate their business by offering new solutions in new ways. Our products can create a real difference for growers,” he says. 

The funding round included two new investors: Emmertech and Cibus funds, as well as existing investors Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Export Development Canada (EDC), and Urbana Corporation.