Key Takeaways
- Antler Bio has raised $4.3M to enhance its EpiHerd system, bringing total funding to $8.5M.
- The EpiHerd platform optimizes dairy farming through gene expression technology, yielding significant increases in milk production and herd health.
- Lead investor The First Thirty Ventures emphasizes the intersection of agriculture and human health in its investment strategy.
Funding to Enhance Dairy Innovation
Dublin-based Antler Bio, an agritech firm specializing in gene expression for dairy farming, has successfully raised $4.3 million in funding to advance its innovative EpiHerd system. This funding round brings the company’s total financial support, including various grants, to approximately $8.5 million. The investment was primarily led by The First Thirty Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to early-stage agricultural technologies that improve health outcomes, alongside investors such as Endgame Capital and the angel syndicate Generation-RE focusing on regenerative agriculture.
Naeem Lakhani, Managing Partner at The First Thirty, stated, “Antler Bio is a great example, combining biology and technology to help reshape the global food system.” The firm supports agricultural innovations that enhance animal welfare and farm efficiency while improving nutrition for consumers.
Antler Bio, founded in 2020, has developed EpiHerd—the first platform of its kind designed to analyze how dairy cows’ genetics respond to various environmental and nutritional factors. By converting intricate genetic data into practical insights, EpiHerd facilitates informed decision-making for farmers. The platform has been implemented in over 100 farms across the UK, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, resulting in up to a 22% increase in milk yield, alongside improvements in milk composition, fertility, and herd longevity. Farmers using EpiHerd have reported an average return on investment exceeding 7:1.
As the dairy sector grapples with challenges such as rising costs and regulatory changes—evident from the over 440 dairy farms in the UK exiting the industry between April 2023 and April 2024—Antler Bio aims to provide innovative solutions to meet these pressures. The EpiHerd platform helps farmers uncover underlying issues impacting herd performance, enabling enhanced productivity and herd welfare.
CEO Maria Jensen expressed enthusiasm for the future, noting, “This investment will enable us to scale EpiHerd to thousands of farms across Europe, grow our team, and continue refining the technology.” The company’s mission focuses on integrating gene expression as a vital tool for sustainable and productive dairy farming.
The First Thirty Ventures seeks to back early-stage agritech companies that enhance human health, emphasizing the combination of technology with agricultural practices. Its portfolio contains various innovative firms in biotechnology and data-driven health solutions, including Antler Bio and others committed to reshaping food systems.
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