Indigo Ag Receives $270 Million Investment, Adds To Its Board Of Directors

Source: Indigo Ag news release

Indigo recently closed a financing round at nearly $270 million. As announced in September 2023, Indigo’s funding round included existing investors, led by Flagship Pioneering, and new investors, including the State of Michigan Retirement System, one of the largest pension funds in the U.S. and Lingotto Investment Management, a $3 billion innovation-focused fund owned by Exor N.V., one of Europe’s largest diversified holding companies.

“This latest funding round is a testament to the power of Indigo’s platform and positions the company for growth across all aspects of the business, from biologicals to digital to carbon,” said Berendes.

Indigo Adds to Board of Directors

As members of the board, Nader Bekhouche and Noubar Afeyan bring decades of experience to the company’s leadership team and will help Indigo Ag take the next step to deliver meaningful and impactful solutions that turn sustainable practices into value for its farmer, agribusiness, and corporate customers.

Berendes noted, “I’m thrilled to add these two uniquely skilled leaders to our board. Their addition will further strengthen our board and its ability to quickly and decisively make important decisions that will benefit our farming community, our corporate customers, and the planet.”
Nader Bekhouche is currently heading the Growth Equity investment team at Investment Corporation of Dubai, the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai, which he joined in 2015.

Bekhouche has held many positions in the technology, agriculture and food industries. For the past, four years, he has also served on the board of directors of Inari Agriculture, a company also founded by Flagship Pioneering, which uses its proprietary AI-powered predictive design and multiplex gene editing toolbox to create high performing plant varieties to sustainably improve agriculture.

“Indigo Ag has ingeniously created solutions to not only maximize the profitability of farming businesses but also to unlock the decarbonization potential of farmland. What Indigo Ag has achieved is a remarkable synthesis that sets it apart — a category of one.” said Bekhouche. “It’s an intricate combination that others will find incredibly challenging to replicate.

“I am truly excited to join the Indigo Ag Board at this pivotal juncture. I am looking forward to providing strategic insights and support as Indigo Ag increasingly focuses on profitable growth. The Company’s prowess in creating a unique business model positions it as a force with the potential to shape the future of sustainable agriculture.”

Afeyan is founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, and a co-founder of Indigo Ag. During his career as inventor, entrepreneur, and CEO, Afeyan has cofounded and helped build over 70 life science and technology companies, including Moderna, and has written numerous scientific publications and is the inventor of over 100 patents.

Bekhouche and Afeyan will join Berendes, Banks and Hovsepian on the Board of Directors, along with Stéphane Bancel, Andreas Fibig, John Gehring, Geoffrey von Maltzahn, and Deborah Winshel.

About Indigo Ag

Indigo Ag is the sustainable agriculture partner that helps farmers and agribusinesses optimize today’s yields and profitability, while nourishing the soil for better tomorrows and helping corporations reach their sustainability goals.

By harnessing science and technology, Indigo Ag’s sustainability programs unlock access to high value revenue streams while promoting practices that help land keep its value for future generations. Indigo is currently the only company offering corporations high quality agricultural carbon credits and scope 3 emissions reductions at scale. Our innovative biologicals boost plant growth to help maximize yields, even in tough conditions. And their state-of-the-art digital software facilitates greater efficiency, accuracy and profitability for crop transactions.
Founded in 2013, Indigo Ag is focused on creating more profitable farmers and more sustainable companies. Operating across 14 countries, the company is delivering on its mission of harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet.

About Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $3.4 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $26 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises over 40 companies, including Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Generate:Biomedicines, Inari, Indigo Agriculture, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Omega Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OMGA), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB) and Tessera Therapeutics.