Argentinean firm Puna Bio: Millions raised to study superbacteria for agricultural use

The Atacama Puna is one of the driest places in the world. This desert plateau located at 4,500 meters above sea level is one of the most inhospitable places for life on the planet. However, there are small living beings that are able to adapt and survive in this scenario. 

They are called extremophiles, a name given to living beings that manage to adapt to these extreme conditions. These are bacteria whose genetic characteristics can be of help to plants in crops that must face increasingly difficult conditions due to climate change.

This is the research area of Puna Bio, an Argentine company that has just raised US$3.7 million to raise the potential of its discoveries. "Extremophiles are, by definition, 'extreme bacteria,'" says Franco Martinez Levis, CEO and co-founder of Puna Bio. 

"They can not only survive, but also thrive and promote plant growth in extreme conditions that would kill most other living things." The firm raised the investments in a funding round led by One Ventures and Builders VC and has been oversubscribed, with participation from Brazil-based SP Ventures and Air Capital, as well as pre-seed funders IndieBio, GLOCAL and Grid Exponential. 

The funding will enable Puna Bio to launch its first seed treatment for soybeans in Argentina, expand field trials for wheat and corn formulations and initiate a regulatory pathway in the US and Brazil.

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