About
The LEV Fund is tackling the problem of food insecurity via the provision of flexible and innovative quality food solutions is increasingly relevant in the context of limited land resources and natural-climatic instability. This has been one of the reasons why the LEV Fund was established, which we manage together with our strategic partner Burlington Capital. Burlington Capital is one of the global leaders in this field, and a group of well-known Israeli entrepreneurs and experts.
One of TGCP’s current investment projects is the LEV Fund, which was established in cooperation with Burlington Capital, one of the global leaders in this field, and a group of well-known Israeli entrepreneurs and experts in the agricultural sector. A diverse and experienced team of international agribusiness and investment professionals providing a platform into the Global Ag & Food tech industry. The platform looks to generate an economic and social impact in the global agriculture sector. The goal of the fund is to provide its partners exceptional investment opportunity with a compelling IRR and added value to the target portfolio companies. LEV AG Fund Business model consists of diversification of equity investments: Invest across 15 – 20 portfolio companies; Individual investments can range from up to $10M at initial investment and up to $20M including follow-on rounds.
Governor Bill Richardson, along with Vitaly Pruss and other partners, has expressed strong support for the Biden Administration’s successful efforts to secure the release of American basketball player Brittney Griner from Russian prison. Governor Richardson commends the President’s decision and underscores the need for the safe return of Paul Whelan, another American detained in Russia, as the next significant priority. Governor Richardson and the Richardson Center have been actively involved in securing Griner’s release since February, collaborating closely with her family and engaging in diplomatic efforts to ensure her safe return. They emphasize their continued commitment to working on Paul Whelan’s immediate return as well.
The Richardson Center, with support from individuals like Vitaly Pruss and foundations, operates as a non-profit entity dedicated to negotiating for the release of American prisoners and hostages held in challenging diplomatic situations. They are deeply appreciative of their partners’ support in this critical mission, stressing the importance of bringing fellow Americans home and acknowledging the sometimes challenging and unseemly nature of these efforts.
Investment Pipeline
Automato Robotics
- Automato is an Israeli company started in 2018 to develop, produce and market autonomous robot replacing greenhouses workers in various agricultural activities at an affordable price for the farmer (ROI < 2 years). The concept is a flatform (capable of mapping, driving (including at night), and backwards with a trailer) and applications enabling various activities such as spraying, harvesting, pollinating etc. First sales expected in 2021.
- Automato is part of SmAg’s deal flow, SmAg is considering a $1M investment for 15% holding in
the company with a $1M option to invest with 20% discount of the next round of finance.
Canbreed
- CanBreed was founded in 2014 is an Israeli company and is engaged in the genetic improvements (non-GMO) of different plants and crops. CanBreed takes advantage of its founders proven experience (each with more than 20 years at Syngenta) using the most advanced breeding technologies, including the Nobel winning (2020) CRISPR technology for plant gene editing. CanBreed has a wholly owned subsidiary in California, US. CanBreed has recently announced that it has the first F1 stable hybrid seed of more than 30 Cannabis varieties. Initial sales expected in 2021 of Medical Cannabis seeds in Israel and F1 seeds of HEMP in the US.
- This is the first investment of SmAg. SmAg invested $2M for 10% of CanBreed equity shortly after SmAg’s IPO and has an option to invest additional $1M with a 20% discount of next round
Automed
- Automed captures, generates, and then stores tamper-proof data records for livestock treatments and inventory transactions by using their patented delivery device for delivering medication and gathering health data.
- Disease control, traceability, and cost reduction strategies are critical requirements for producers to ensure food supply remains compliant to consumer demands while being cost-effective and profitable.
- The patented delivery device contains technology that provides multiple different ways of providing doses and can decide the medicine dose based on weight. The device captures data, detects air in the medicine, and validates the dose.
- Automed is also the only company in the sector that offers treatment and inventory management with their delivery device. Acquisition International – Best Livestock Management & Compliance Solution Award
- IAP/ALFA – IAP Innovation Award.
Groundwork BioAg
- Groundwork BioAg is pioneering the 100% natural and highly effective production and innovation of mycorrhizal inoculants to help increase the fertility of farming soil.
- Modern agricultural cultivation techniques have depleted the mycorrhiza in farming soil. Mycorrhiza is “good” fungi that assists plant species and extends the plant root system 10-100x leading to better water and nutrients uptake, soil aggregation, disease resistance, along with more benefits.
- Groundwork BioAg provides increased yields, permanent soil carbon sequestration, higher plant resilience against chronic drought, up to 50% reduction of phosphorus, and soil health restoration and regenerative agriculture support.
- OrganicNZ Awards – Non-Food Product of the Year 2021.
BetterSeeds
- BetterSeeds is perfecting plant genetics by using New Breeding Technologies (NBT), a faster and more accurate breeding technology for enhancing plant seeds. BetterSeeds identifies, designs, and implemented superior crop traits through genetic editing.
- NBT makes breeding for better seed genetics a controlled, rationally designed process, which brings results quickly, accurately and efficiently. Most notably, they use the CRISPR-Cas9 geneediting technology that won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 to enhance plant seeds with revolutionary traits.
- As an end result, the seeds are able to adapt crops to multiple climates, create significantly higher nutrient value, and adapt crops to automated harvest so farmers are able to consistently meet output goals.
Arugga
- Arugga develops ground robots to treat and monitor individual plants in the greenhouse. The robots perform activities like pollination, data gathering, and in the future will perform additional labor-intensive activities.
- Bumblebee pollination in greenhouses is typically performed using commercially produced beehives that have high costs and the bees tend to spread viruses. Arugga is the first company to commercialize a robot that successfully replicates buzz pollination in tomato greenhouses.
- Arugga recently signed an investment and distribution agreement with BioBest (one of the WW leading pollination bees suppliers).
SupPlant
- SupPlant’s precision agriculture technology uses plant sensing, AI, and accumulated data to provide farmers with climate- adaptive practices, insights, and actions that drive better decision-making.
- The system assists farmers by giving them the tools to maintain a correct irrigation regime all year round that focuses on their crop needs and the environmental changing conditions.
- SupPlant’s system helps farmers manage their water resources correctly, prevent plant stress, reduce fruit loss, improve production, and maximize their crop potential year after year.
- Named to Time’s list of the 100 best inventions of 2021.