IMIO, the pioneering manufacturer of a new generation of dependable agricultural biologicals, has raised $12 million to help farmers transform soil performance and protect profitability. The round was led by Sofinnova Partners with additional backing from Chipotle’s Cultivate Next venture fund, Starshot Capital, Grow Together Salinas, Earth Foundry and Serra Ventures. The investment will be used to support the development of the company’s new lab and biomanufacturing operations and headquarters in Chicago.

Biologicals have significant potential in agriculture, but trust remains the biggest barrier to adoption. In CropLife’s 2026 Biologicals Survey of ag retailers and advisors, 39% cited trust issues as the main reason biological products have struggled to find market acceptance. Many biological products on the market have been unreliable and hard to use alongside existing farm practices.

IMIO was built to address that challenge with a proprietary biomanufacturing process that produces concentrated and reliable biologicals. Each microbial strain is grown and tested individually, combined in precise ratios and freeze-dried to preserve viability through storage, transport and application. IMIO’s products, Re-Gen for Produce and Re-Gen for Row Crops, are applied to the residue left over after harvesting. Re-Gen’s combination of fungi, bacteria and yeast speeds up the breakdown of residue, which can harbor pathogens, and releases nutrients back into the soil to improve soil health and crop performance.

Charles Smith, Founder and CEO at IMIO, said, “Farmers deserve trustworthy partners and products. The work they do is vital for all of us who need to eat food, and they’re facing an extremely challenging market. We understand why they’re skeptical of biologicals, and we appreciate the trust they put in us when they use our products. We’re committed to delivering reliable performance and ROI, helping increase profitability while improving soil function.”

Re-Gen has been tested in university and farm trials covering more than 10,000 Midwest acres in 2024 and 2025, and 2026. Results include:

  • An average corn yield increase of 11.9 bushels per acre, with individual results ranging from 5.32 to 22.67 bushels per acre
  • Nutrient credits of up to $120 per acre in row crops, and tillage savings of up to $120 per acre in produce

Kirk Stueve farms and owns land leased to other growers across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Concerns about protecting margins without risking yield led him to try Re-Gen on a 140-acre field. After a couple of years of use in a high-residue, four-year corn-on-corn rotation, the treated field exceeded its historic yield record by 30 bushels per acre (bpa). By capturing tied-up organic nutrients and operating at a nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of 0.75 lbs of nitrogen per bushel (N/bu), Kirk cut his nitrogen bill by $45-50 per acre without sacrificing yield.

Kirk Stueve said, “A lot of biologicals have great marketing strategies and sales teams but struggle to deliver in reality. From what we’ve seen so far, IMIO is an outlier. The team there cares about helping farmers make money while improving soil health. They’re with us every step of the way, assisting with interpretations, offering insights, and listening to our concerns. It’s made us more optimistic about the potential value of using biologicals.”

The US Department of Agriculture forecasts that farm production expenses will rise 4.5% in 2026, with fuel and oil costs up 28.8%, while net farm income is predicted to drop to $158.4 billion, down 2.6% from 2025, or 5.5% after adjusting for inflation. This combination of declining revenues and rising expenses is forcing many into bankruptcy, with industry figures showing that Chapter 12 bankruptcies increased for the second year in a row in 2025.

For growers, any product that cuts field costs while protecting yield has a direct impact on profit, and that is the gap IMIO is aiming to fill.

Guillaume Baxter, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, said, “Crop residue is a major challenge for farmers, affecting soil productivity and driving up input costs. IMIO combines biotechnology and scalable biomanufacturing to harness microorganisms that restore soil health, recycle nutrients and improve farm economics. This is exactly the kind of real-world application of biology we want to support.”

In addition to capital, Cultivate Next portfolio companies gain access to industry expertise, operational insights and opportunities to collaborate with one of the world’s leading restaurant brands as they scale their businesses and technologies.

“Building a better food system starts with making innovation work for growers—improving their economics, strengthening their operations, and delivering value all the way to the people they feed,” said Christian Gammill, co-General Partner at Chipotle’s Cultivate Next. “Through Cultivate Next, we bring growers and food buyers together to help promising technologies succeed in the field and scale across the food system. IMIO represents the kind of innovation we want to back: grounded in real agricultural challenges, with the potential to strengthen farm profitability and resilience while helping meet growing demand for real food.”

Leading agtech and science investors Starshot Capital, Grow Together Salinas, Earth Foundry and Serra Venture also participated in the round.

Smith founded IMIO in 2019 to help make farming more economically sustainable by focusing on soil quality. He and his team applied innovative freeze-drying processes to stabilize the microbes and preserve their viability during storage and transport.

The company has recently relocated from Vermont to Chicago, where it is investing in a new headquarters, lab and biomanufacturing facility.

Smith concluded, “Moving to Chicago brings us closer to our customers while also giving us access to the talent and innovation in the Illinois agricultural and biomanufacturing ecosystem. Securing this funding from backers of the caliber of Sofinnova Partners, Cultivate Next and the other great investors on our cap table, is a validation of our approach and a critical next step in our growth.”

IMIO works with farmers across the US with a focus on row crops and produce.

About IMIO

IMIO develops and manufactures dependable biologicals that improve crop performance, nutrient efficiency, and soil function.

Through precision biomanufacturing, IMIO turns natural microbial capabilities into concentrated, shelf-stable products built for commercial agriculture. Each microbial strain is grown and tested individually, combined in precise ratios, and freeze-dried to preserve viability through storage and application.

Its flagship platform, Re-Gen, helps growers recapture nutrients from crop residue. A purpose-built combination of fungi, bacteria, and yeast supports residue breakdown, nutrient release, and nutrient availability for crop uptake. Results to date include faster residue breakdown, reduced tillage requirements, measurable fertilizer savings, and, in favorable conditions, an average yield increase of 11.9 bushels per acre.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, IMIO’s mission is to harness the intelligence of living systems to make agriculture more productive and efficient. Discover Organic Intelligence at imio.co.

About Sofinnova Partners

Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on company builder across the entire value chain of life-sciences investments, from seed to later-stage. Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners has over 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners manages over €4 billion in assets. For more information, please visit: sofinnovapartners.com.

About Cultivate Next

Since launching in 2022, Cultivate Next has focused on identifying and supporting early-stage companies that align with Chipotle’s mission to Cultivate a Better World and help accelerate the company’s long-term goal of operating 7,000 restaurants in North America. The fund invests in companies developing technologies and business models that have the potential to create a more resilient, transparent and sustainable food ecosystem. For more information, visit cultivatenext.vc.

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