PlantBit secures €200,000 funding round: Scientifica Venture Capital and Terra Next bet on sustainable agriculture

A new investment from Scientifica Venture Capital is backing PlantBit and its biosensor, a technology that could revolutionise sustainable agriculture. Scientifica joins Terra Next, an accelerator programme dedicated to innovative start-ups and SMEs in the bioeconomy sector.

Terra Next was created through an initiative of CDP Venture Capital, with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center as co-founder and promoter, and operational support from Cariplo Factory, which manages the programme.

Thanks to its technology, PlantBit, an agritech start-up and spin-off of the National Research Council (CNR), has secured a funding round of €200,000.

The PlantBit team has developed Bioristor, a biosensor (organic electrochemical transistor, OECT) that monitors the health of plants in real time and provides precise data on their needs, such as water, nutrients and phytosanitary treatments. The Bioristor technology is protected by an international patent, exclusively licensed to PlantBit, and is the result of scientific research carried out by the National Research Council for Electronic and Magnetic Materials (CNR-IMEM) in Parma.

In a global context where climate change and rising food demand are putting increasing pressure on agriculture, Bioristor is proving to be a vital tool in the transition to more sustainable farming practices.

The startup’s biosensor, when inserted into a plant stem and connected to an IoT central unit that transmits signals to an app, detects the onset of water stress and alerts farmers or machine operators, indicating the optimal time to irrigate.

This technology enables farmers to act quickly, optimise water use, reduce water waste by up to 40% and increase production efficiency.

PlantBit’s technology aligns perfectly with the goals of Agriculture 4.0, a sector focused on maximising agricultural yields while minimising the use of natural resources, particularly water. With agriculture currently consuming 70% of the world’s water resources, the adoption of technologies such as Bioristor is critical to ensuring a sustainable future.

“With this investment, we will accelerate the pre-industrialisation and finalisation of Bioristor, bringing to market a technology that will help reduce the environmental impact of agriculture while addressing global challenges related to food security,” said Riccardo D’Alessandri, Managing Partner of Scientifica Venture Capital.

“The investment in PlantBit reflects the high potential impact that the Bioristor device could have on agriculture and the optimisation of water resources,” said Stefano Molino, Senior Partner and Head of the Accelerator Fund at CDP Venture Capital. “We are proud that the company has attracted the attention of other investors such as Scientifica and we look forward to continuing this growth journey together.”