• Saudi Arabia-based agritech iyris has closed a $16 million Series A funding round, led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) and supported by current and new institutional investors, including Global Ventures, Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), Kanoo Ventures, Globivest, and Bonaventure Capital. 
• Founded in 2018 by  Ryan Lefers, Derya Baran and Mark Tester, iyris, formerly known as RedSea, addresses global food security challenges while minimising environmental impact.
• Proceeds of the new funding will support the delivery of iyris’ international sales pipeline for SecondSky greenhouse covers and nets and develop its heat blocking products and resilient plant genetics.

Press release:

iyris (formerly RedSea), the innovative AgriClimate Tech whose company helps growers globally increase crop yields, reduce input costs and risk, and extend growing seasons in some of the most difficult farming environments, announces the completion of a $16 million, Series A fundraise. 

The round was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund (“EIF”) - a San Francisco-based climate and sustainability fund supporting high-growth companies that drive a positive environmental impact. It was supported by current and new institutional investors, including Global Ventures, Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), Kanoo Ventures, Globivest, and Bonaventure Capital. 

Proceeds will support increased sales coverage and the delivery of iyris’ strong international sales pipeline for SecondSky greenhouse covers and nets. It will also fund the continued development of its innovative heat blocking products and resilient plant genetics. The investment underpins iyris’ ongoing commitment to empowering farmers to sustainably mitigate the impact of climate change, address food security concerns, and achieve key UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

John Keppler, Executive Chairperson of iyris, said: 

"We are building a great company, making it easier for farmers to grow fresh produce in increasingly difficult climates. There are few problems more challenging than feeding the world sustainably. iyris is assembling the necessary toolkit to help farmers improve crop yields with fewer resources. 

“In just a very short time, we have brought our products to market and proven that they work. But we have a lot left to do, and the completion of our Series A fundraise enables us to take the next steps in expanding sales of our drop-in solutions for heat blocking and crop resilience to our grower customers around the world.”

Sasha Brown, partner at EIF, commented: 

“EIF has been studying the impact of increasingly extreme weather on agriculture. iyris’ suite of products is tailored for growers in harsh and volatile conditions, who have historically been underserved by AgriClimate Tech innovation. These growers, who often operate on thin margins, have few options to better manage their farms to reduce the risk of crop loss, increase yields, and reduce water and energy consumption.

“We have invested in iyris because we believe there are few companies that have such tremendous potential to become a critical partner for a mass market of growers, as they seek to adapt their operations to withstand and mitigate changing climates.”

The technologies being deployed at scale by iyris were originally developed by leading scientists and professors at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.  

The first technology, iyris’ SecondSky, available in multiple greenhouse coverings and shade nets, minimizes the stress and impact of near infrared heat radiation on plants while allowing the spectrum of light that plants need for photosynthesis. This is revolutionary in the agriculture industry, delivering more resilient, productive and profitable crops in regions where climate change and excessive heat limit sustainable, productive growth. iyris is selling SecondSky polycarbonate, polyethylene, nets, and soon to be launched shade screens, to customers growing fresh produce in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Mexico and North America.

Additionally, iyris has developed plant genetics via a novel hybridization process that has the potential to breed resiliency to salinity, heat and drought across a broad range of crops, ensuring stress resistant, dependable food production. The technology is already demonstrating exciting results with some of the world’s largest tomato growers in large-scale open-field trials. 

Serving a global market of >$6 billion in recurring annual sales for greenhouse covers, iyris’ solutions deliver tangible benefits to the planet, and growers - via extended growing seasons, increased yields and resource savings, while bolstering local, regional, and global food supply chains. Farmers in iyris’ target markets benefit from single crop cycle payback periods for technology investments from the iyris portfolio.

 

iyris’ platform of proprietary technologies reduces energy and water consumption by up to 90% in their target markets. The winner of the esteemed Davidson Prize, SecondSky by iyris, the transparent heat-blocking greenhouse roof - alone - has delivered reductions in energy usage by over 40% and water consumption by 30% at customer installations.

iyris was advised by Kirchner Group and King & Spalding.