Oxford herbicide spinout Moa seeds $40m funding round
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An Oxford University spinout which is developing a new generation of weed-resistant herbicides has begun planting a $40m (£32m) fundraising with prospective backers. Sky News understands that Moa Technology, which was co-founded by the world-leading university's head of plant sciences Professor Liam Dolan, is kicking off a Series C funding round.
Moa has already raised $59m (£47m) from prominent investors including Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), BGF and Lansdowne Partners, the Mayfair-based hedge fund. Its existing shareholders are understood to be supportive of the new fundraising plans, although potential new investors will also be approached.
Moa is developing active ingredients which can break weeds' resistance to herbicides - a key challenge for the global agricultural sector - with the aim of securing approval from regulators. Similar to the growth of antibiotic resistance in humans, resistant 'superweeds' are able to kill a farmer's entire crop, ultimately endangering food security.
Industry data suggests that farmers spend up to $40bn (£31.2bn) annually on herbicides, and a further $25bn (£19.9bn) on weed-resistant seeds. Driver Thomas Johnson jailed for killing three teenage passengers after inhaling laughing gas at the wheel. Rapper Slowthai cleared of raping two women during house party.
