In the News
MEDIA CONTACT:
Tracy Willits
media@pivotbio.com
515-202-7714
WSJ, JUL 22, 2021
DCVC Founder Matt Ocko on Investing for a ‘Star Trek’ Future
Pivot Bio investor says supporting businesses that deliver ecological benefits can result in conventional venture-capital returns.
WSJ, JUL 21, 2021
Fertilizer Startup Pivot Bio Shows Deep-Tech Investing Can Yield Social Benefits, VC Backer Says
Pivot Bio raised $430 million to build a sustainable crop nitrogen source that could someday replace traditional fertilizers. An expert says the industry is at a ‘Blockbuster vs. Netflix moment’.
Forbes, JUL 19, 2021
Pivot Bio Nears $2 Billion Valuation As It Raises Whopping $430 Million To Replace Synthetic Fertilizers On Corn And Wheat
Pivot Bio broke the code on using microbes to get crops to self-fertilize, allowing farmers to replace their synthetic fertilizers. It's now worth nearly $2 billion.
Reuters, JUL 19, 2021
Pivot Bio, a startup using microbes to replace synthetic fertilizer, raises $430 million
A startup born in the lab of University of California, Berkeley, is aiming to replace synthetic fertilizers that contribute to greenhouse gases and so-called 'dead zones' in the ocean.
Farm Progress, JUL 19, 2021
Microbial Nitrogen Tech Gets A Boost
Pivot Bio announces new funding round, and is launching Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 the latest version of its nitrogen-fixing technology.
Larta Institute, MAR 25, 2021
Keeping Nutrients On The Field
This podcast shares information about more effective nutrient management systems for today's farmers.
Successful Farming, JAN 26, 2021
Pivot Bio Offers N-Producing Microbe for Grain Sorghum
A new microbial product from Pivot Bio could help them maximize nitrogen efficiency by creating a strong connection with the plant and delivering a reliable yet consistent supply of nitrogen.
Agri-Pulse, NOV 30, 2020
Farmers Look To Innovate Their Way To Smaller Environmental Footprint
New forms of farming equipment could make it easier for growers to apply nitrogen fertilizer as well as other inputs — in other words, make precision agriculture more precise.
Future of Agriculture Podcast with Tim Hammerich, NOV 11, 2020
Future Of Ag Podcast Featuring Pivot Bio CEO And Co-Founder Karsten Temme
Learn more about how Pivot Bio's microbes work, the impact on farmers, and how biology is poised to transform agriculture.
Fortune, Sept 28, 2020
Pivot Bio Makes Fortune Impact 20 List
Impact 20 is dedicated to recognizing young companies that are already making people’s lives better, even as they fine-tune and road-test their ideas in capitalism’s laboratory.
Forbes, Sept 10, 2020
Why Bill Gates Is Betting Millions On Synthetic Biology
The world’s brightest tech founders are investing in synthetic biology, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates who helped fund Pivot Bio.
the rising, July 3, 2020
Pivot Bio CEO Karsten Temme had a vision to create a better way to feed the world.
Pivot Bio secured $100 million in its Series C funding round, backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures and global investment firm Temasek.
cheddar, May 28, 2020
Pivot Bio’s Aims to Reduce Agricultural Environmental Footprint
Pivot Bio aims to change that with new technology that reduces the environmental footprint of agriculture while increase farmers crop output and revenue.
Biofuels Digest, May 6, 2020
Pivot Bio raises $100M as it proves out why it’s agtech’s next billion-dollar baby
After closing its $100 million Series C funding round, Pivot Bio will accelerate its plans to scale its first-to-market microbial nitrogen technology that increases crop yields and farmer revenue.
AgFunder News, Apr 20, 2020
BREAKING: Pivot Bio raises $100m Series C to meet demand for sold-out nitrogen-fixing microbe product
The Berkeley, CA-based startup has announced the closing of a $100 million Series C round co-led by return investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
TechCrunch, Apr 30, 2020
With fresh support from its billionaire backers Pivot Bio is ushering in a farming revolution
A century after nitrogen fertilizer was introduced, a new group of scientists backed by government-owned international investment funds and some of the world’s wealthiest men and women is trying to save the world from
THRIVE, MAR 25, 2020
Pivot Bio Named to SVG Ventures 2020 THRIVE TOP 50 AgTech
Selected as a top 50 AgTech company by SVG Ventures, Pivot Bio was chosen in the biotechnology sector because it exemplifies the best in agriculture innovation.
FAST COMPANY, MAR 10, 2020
Pivot Bio Named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Biotech Companies List 2020
Pivot Bio was named to Fast Company’s most innovative biotechnology companies, which reflects the push in pharmaceuticals to expand past lucrative cures and focus on desperately needed solutions.
Farm Journal AgWeb, MAR 5, 2020
Farmer Quits Synthetic Nitrogen, Goes to N-producing Microbe in Corn
Central Iowa farmer Scott Henry changed course for 2020, swapping his traditional nitrogen program for Pivot Bio PROVEN™’s sustainable nitrogen-producing microbes.
East Bay Economic Development Alliance, Dec 12, 2019
8th Annual East Bay Innovation Awards 2020 Finalists Announced
East Bay EDA announced the Finalists for their 8th Annual East Bay Innovation Awards.
BusinessWire, Dec 5, 2019
Rabobank Presents 2019 Food and Agribusiness Industry Leadership Awards
Recipients have been announced, celebrating companies in the region that demonstrate exceptional achievements in innovation, sustainability and market leadership.
Farm Journal’s AgPro, Sept 12, 2019
Pivot Bio Expands Sales Distribution
Pivot Bio PROVEN™ is the first of its kind nitrogen-producing microbial product, which has an approved label in 33 states. The product can replace 25 lb. to 40 lb. of synthetic nitrogen in corn production.
Growing food around the world will only get harder as weather gets harsher and more unpredictable.
OneZero, June 13, 2019
The Corn That Grows Itself
How microbes could upend America’s toxic dependence on nitrogen fertilizer.
Forbes, May 27, 2019
Inside The High Tech World Of Microbes For Crops
Pivot Bio ‘re-awakens’ the nitrogen-producing capabilities occurring naturally in soil microbes by using genomic sequencing to identify these crop-associated microbes with the natural ability to produce nitrogen.
Chemical & Engineering News (c&en), May 25, 2019
The newest food trend is in the ground
Food companies’ sustainability goals hinge on soil health.
MPR News, May 22, 2019
Farmers testing new fertilizer alternative: bacteria
The bacteria will help the corn plants convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form the corn plants can use as fertilizer. The idea is to eventually replace synthetic nitrogen fertilizer with microbes.
High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, Apr 7, 2019
Microbe product’s trials show potential for corn farmers
Pivot Bio touted its microbe technology as a way to increase production by more than 7 bushels per acre in normal soil and 17 bushels an acre in sandy soil when tested against fields with traditional nitrogen fertilizer.
gatesnotes, Mar 26, 2019
We should discuss soil as much as we talk about coal
What if we could fertilize plants without releasing harmful nitrous oxide into the air? Bill Gates highlights several companies, including Pivot Bio, that are developing creative solutions.
Thrive, Mar 11, 2019
Thrive AgTech 2019 Top 50 Report
An annual ranking of 50 leading global AgTech companies exemplifying the best in agriculture and food-focused innovation.
Business Insider, Mar 6, 2019
Billionaires are betting on a bacteria that could change the way we grow food
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria may not sound like the most alluring topic, but it’s capturing the attention of the world’s most influential billionaires, who see it as a concrete way to help save the planet.
The Mercury News, Mar 5, 2019
Berkeley’s designer bacteria: The end of fertilizer?
Scientists build novel microbe that lets us re-imagine how we grow food.
Fast Company, Feb 20, 2019
Pivot Bio Named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies List
Pivot Bio makes the world’s first nitrogen-producing microbial that grafts onto corn to act as a sustainable fertilizer.
AgFunderNews, Feb 7, 2019
Pivot Bio’s PROVEN Microbes Can Reduce Negative Impacts of Fertilizer Overuse and Leaching
In a six-year trial, spanning 13 states, 45 different soil types, and 11,000 acres, farms using PROVEN produced on average 7.7 bushels of corn more per acre than those using traditional synthetic fertilizer.
Forbes, Feb 7, 2019
Midwest Corn Farmers Put New Fertilizer Alternative To The Test
The San Francisco-based startup has now completed over 11,000 field trials of its microbes with Midwest farmers, bringing the company one step closer to commercialization.
Successful Farming, Jan 16, 2019
8 Ag Tech Start-ups Worth Watching in 2019
As you look across the ag tech landscape, the number of companies vying for farmers’ attention seems to continuously be on the rise. It’s also creating fatigue.
San Francisco Business Times, Jan 7, 2019
From Akero to Zymergen, 20 Bay Area biotech companies to watch around JPM19
The 37th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, along with the Biotech Showcase, Startup Health Festival and other conferences in San Francisco this week, feature big names, such as Amgen Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc.,
elephant journal, Jan 4, 2019
Energy Technologies to Be on the Lookout For
The need for alternate energy and major climate change initiatives has never been more vital, now that the world’s carbon emissions have reached an all-time high.
Business Insider, Jan 5, 2019
44 Enterprise Startups to Bet Your Career on in 2019
Here’s our annual list of promising enterprise startups who did so well in 2018, they are poised for future success in 2019 and beyond.
Inc., Dec 27, 2018
Recession, Blockchain, Drones and Other Tech Predictions for 2019
Technology is evolving at an exponential pace and undoubtedly a year from now the landscape will look different than it does today. Here’s what tech insiders see coming around the bend.
Xconomy, Dec 27, 2018
From Alnylam to Zayner: Xconomy’s Top Innovation Stories of 2018
As the year winds down, we’re reflecting on the big innovation trends and developments that will carry over to next year.
Fast Company, Dec 24, 2018
6 Glimmers of Climate Optimism for the End of a Dark Year
It was a year of frightening reports on the future of our planet. But sustainability experts are still feeling optimistic about some of the strides we’ve made this year.
Farm Journal Ag Tech, Nov 27,2018
Bayer and Pivot Bio Collaborate on Soybean Inoculant
Earlier this week Pivot Bio and Monsanto Company, a member of the Bayer group, announced a collaboration they entered earlier this year to develop a new soybean inoculant. The collaboration focuses on developing
WIRED, Oct 2, 2018
Farmers Can Now Buy Designer Microbes to Replace Fertilizer
Fertilizing is essential to yielding a healthy harvest, but it’s expensive enough that he stresses about it, and, as he’s well aware, it’s not great for the planet.
MIT Technology Review, Oct 2, 2018
Replacing Fertilizer With Plant Probiotics Could Slash Greenhouse Gases
“If we can start reducing the pollution tied to fertilizer, then we’re literally cleaning up the planet,” said Karsten Temme, the company’s chief executive, in an interview.
Xconomy, Oct 2, 2018
Pivot Bio Gets $70M, Led by Bill Gates’s Fund, to Replace Fertilizer
Scientists at agriculture startup Pivot Bio say the key to delivering an important nutrient to crops has been at the plants’ roots all along—and the company is now preparing to offer farmers an alternative to fertilizer.
Grist, Oct 2, 2018
Death by Fertilizer
Nitrogen fertilizer is a disaster. Abandoning it would be a bigger disaster. Now a dozen billionaires are funding an alternative.