EIC ePitching: eight agrifood innovators, a winning soil‑carbon play and growing investor interest
- ›An EIC ePitching on 29 September showcased eight EIC-backed food and agritech companies and attracted about 50 investors.
- ›Seqana won the investor-voted best pitch for its satellite, field data and machine learning approach to measuring soil organic carbon and producing tradable credits.
- ›Pertinent Eco-Solutions drew investor interest for a plant-extract pest control claimed to overcome resistant species, while attendees flagged the need for regulatory and scaling proof.
- ›Presenting companies covered a wide set of approaches from industrial photosynthesis and microalgae to precision bioinformatics, upcycled kernels, fermentation and microbiome materials.
- ›Investors at the event reiterated that founder quality, execution and realistic timelines matter more than headline sustainability claims.
EIC ePitching recap: what happened and why it matters
On 29 September the European Innovation Council’s Investor Readiness and Outreach Programme ran an ePitching session featuring eight companies backed by the EIC Accelerator. Roughly 50 investors from venture capital firms, corporate venture arms and specialised impact funds attended. The session aimed to surface investable agriculture and food technologies and to match founders to corporate partners and investors. Investors voted Seqana as the day’s best pitch.
Seqana: the soil carbon measurement pitch that won investors
Seqana, an agritech start-up, presented a workflow that combines satellite imagery, ground truth sampling and machine learning to estimate soil organic carbon and track changes over time. Investors singled out the company for its focus on making soil carbon measurable at scale and for framing measurement as the creation of traceable assets that could be monetised in carbon markets. Seqana’s founder and CEO, Stefan Gönner, described the company as mission-driven to accelerate a shift to regenerative agriculture by connecting farmers to carbon markets.
Seqana said it has deployed SOC sampling designs across many hectares and provides tools such as an EONS calculator to determine optimal sampling. The company reported follow-up investor interest after the ePitching. Seqana also stressed strategic partnership building rather than immediate fundraising. Investors on the jury included corporates like Barilla, Consun and Sonae and several prominent VC funds. Seqana welcomed the variety of stage perspectives in the audience.
Pertinent Eco-Solutions: a plant-extract pest control draws attention
Pertinent Eco-Solutions pitched a biocontrol product based on plant extracts in a micro-emission formulation. Founder Bruno Jactel highlighted two claimed modes of action: disruption of the insect exoskeleton and blocking specific neuroreceptors. The company reports over 90 percent effectiveness against resistant pest species and describes a "boosting effect" that increases kill rates dramatically.
Who else pitched: the eight innovators and their approaches
The session brought together a diverse set of technologies across photosynthesis-based production, microbiome materials, AI-driven breeding tools, emissions-reducing catalysts, upcycled seed proteins, precision fermentation and more. Each company is at different stages of technical development and commercial readiness.
| Company | Technology or focus | Claimed application or impact |
| ARBOREA | Industrialised photosynthesis via the Biosolar Leaf | Convert CO2 to microalgae biomass to make protein and functional ingredients without agricultural land use |
| Bac3Gel Lda | Mucus-inspired advanced biomaterials | Materials to support microbiome growth for research, food, wellness and agritech applications |
| Computomics | AI-powered bioinformatics | Help breeders identify climate-resilient traits to accelerate crop selection |
| Crop Intellect Ltd | R-Leaf® photocatalyst | Remove atmospheric N2O and convert it to plant-available nitrogen to reduce emissions and cut synthetic fertiliser use |
| Kern Tec | Upcycling stone fruit kernels | Convert apricot, cherry and plum seeds into nut-like ingredients with high protein and healthy fats for snacks and dairy alternatives |
| MOA BIOTECH SL | Precision fermentation and AI | Transform food industry by-products into sustainable high-value ingredients |
| Pertinent Eco-Solutions | Plant extract micro‑emission biocontrols | Reduce reliance on chemical pesticides with a novel formulation and claimed multi-modal action |
| Seqana | Satellite imagery, ground truth and ML for SOC MRV | Quantify soil organic carbon changes to support carbon markets and regenerative agriculture |
Investor feedback and the EIC signal
Katarzyna Gil, Principal, Sustainable Food Systems at Icos Capital, attended and emphasised why events like this matter to VCs. She said these sessions are useful to expand networks and evaluate how companies are developing. Gil highlighted that the EIC portfolio often includes later-stage companies and that EIC-backed founders tend to be well prepared. She stressed that her investment thesis gives big weight to the founding team’s technical expertise and their business execution capabilities, and she noted the value of partnerships and public backing in de-risking scaling.
About the EIC Investor Readiness and Outreach Programme and BAS support
The pitch was organised under the European Innovation Council’s Investor Readiness and Outreach Programme which is part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services. The programme aims to raise investor readiness of EIC Accelerator innovators and to introduce them to relevant investors through ePitchings and Investor Days. Public materials from the EIC show the investor outreach portfolio achieves measurable activity including hundreds of one-on-one meetings, deal introductions and pipeline matches.
Why these pitches matter for European food systems and what to watch next
The companies on stage reflect broader trends in European agrifood innovation: commoditisation of biological and digital tools, a push to decouple protein and ingredient production from arable land, and attempts to embed environmental services such as carbon sequestration into supply chain economics. They also reflect a healthy investor ecosystem of specialist funds, family offices and corporate venture arms willing to meet founders.
For Seqana the immediate tests will be independent MRV acceptance and the economics of converting measurements into credits or insetting deals. For Pertinent the tests will be replicated field trial data, registration success in target markets and ability to scale manufacturing of botanical actives. For all firms the next 12 to 24 months will be about moving from demonstrable science to defensible commercial contracts.
Takeaways for founders, investors and policy makers
Founders: prepare for investor questions that go beyond mission statements. Expect technical scrutiny on measurement methods, regulatory pathways and unit economics. Use EIC and similar programmes to access corporates and to build credibility but be ready to show independent validation data.
Investors: public backing like EIC grants can reduce early-stage perceived risk but investors still need to underwrite technical risk, scale risk and market adoption. Ask for third-party validation where possible and insist on staged milestones that map to regulatory and commercial de‑risking.
Policymakers and standard setters: if soil carbon, insetting and biocontrols are to contribute meaningfully to mitigation and resilience, they need clear, harmonised MRV methodologies and proportionate routes to market for biological inputs. That alignment will determine whether measurement innovations translate into finance and on-farm action.
Where to find more information
The EIC Business Acceleration Services and the Investor Readiness and Outreach Programme publish calls, success stories and partner lists on the EIC Community Platform. Founders enrolled in the EIC Accelerator can access tailored coaching, matchmaking and investor outreach activities.