Key facts
- OlsAro raised €5 million in seed funding.
- The funding will support international field trials and commercialization.
- The company plans to expand into drought tolerance and nitrogen-use efficiency traits.
- Salinity affects about 10% of the world's cropland.
- OlsAro's salinity-resilient wheat has shown up to a 41% yield increase in trials.
Swedish startup OlsAro has secured €5 million ($5.5 million) in seed funding to advance its SeedAX platform and bring its salinity-resilient wheat to market in 2027. The round was co-led by Industrifonden and Nordic Foodtech VC, with participation from existing investors Future Food Fund, PINC, AgFunder, and GU Ventures. This brings OlsAro's total funding to approximately €7.5 million ($8.3 million).
The investment will fuel commercialization efforts, support international field trials, and enable the development of new programs focused on drought tolerance and nitrogen-use efficiency. OlsAro aims to expand its technology to other cereal crops like rice.
Salinity affects about 10% of global cropland, posing a significant threat to cereal production. OlsAro's salinity-resilient wheat has demonstrated yield increases of up to 41% in trials under saline conditions in Bangladesh. The company is also conducting trials in Kenya, Pakistan, Egypt, Italy, Canada, and Australia, emphasizing that its varieties are developed without genetic modification to avoid regulatory hurdles.