A vertical farming system from Gaia Project Australia (GPA), which tests have shown can lift the yields of salad greens by 40 per cent compared to other indoor growing methods, has received a $1 million investment from a pre-seed investment program run by La Trobe University and Breakthrough Victoria (BV).
Founded by its chief executive officer Nadun Hennayaka, Gaia has developed the Omni-System with support from La Trobe researchers Dr Alex Stumpf and Adam Console, with the belief it will become a global leader in next-generation controlled environment agriculture (CEA) technology.
The Omni-System can also reportedly significantly reduce both capital and operational expenditure compared to other indoor farming systems.
The startup is now prepared for deployment with projects underway in Australia, India and Sri Lanka. As it establishes market market partnerships in Europe and the USA the company aims for a hard launch in the southern hemisphere spring of 2025.
"We have seen first-hand in Australia and abroad the impact of the rising cost of fresh produce during a cost-of-living crisis," says Hennayaka.
"Our mission is to provide growers with the latest, easily adoptable, cost-efficient technology for sustainable success, by delivering consistent, predictable, highly efficient yields.
"Ultimately, sustainable and profitable growers lead to a steady supply of affordable, fresh produce for consumers."
The La Trobe University Eagle Fund was officially launched yesterday evening, although it was formed in 2023 between the university and Breakthrough Victoria as part of the latter's $100 million University Innovation Platform.
Each has contributed $9 million to the Eagle Fund to provide early-stage funding for researchers and startups seeking to commercialise La Trobe intellectual property, particularly those working within areas of digital health, AI, disease detection and treatment and food security.
La Trobe and BV have put forward $500,000 each, while the startup has also received co-investment from Brisbane-based agrifood technology investor Mandalay Venture Partners, as well as LaunchVic and others.
The announcement comes just days after California-based vertical farming company Plenty - which raised almost US$1 billion - filed for bankruptcy, and also follows the closure of former unicorn Bowery Farming at the tail end of 2024.
But there have been other more positive announcements in the sector, with Stacked Farm gearing up for a new $150 million facility at Melbourne Airport.
New York-based BrightFarms opened three large peri-urban greenhouses in the US last year, and Kimbal Musk's Square Roots expanded into Japan last month by licensing its modular vertical farming technology to a new company headquartered in Tokyo.
The Eagle Fund has also invested another $1 million in a second spin-out company from the university, ExCelligent, which has developed a revolutionary blood-based diagnostic platform that enables early and accurate detection of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
"The investment from the Eagle Fund has allowed us to launch ExCelligent and embark on a program to bring our diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases to market," says Professor Andy Hill, who co-founded ExCelligent with Dr Lesley Cheng.
"This comes at a crucial time with cases of both diseases rising with our ageing population."
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell says the Eagle Fund provides a unique opportunity for investors and industry partners to support La Trobe-backed innovations, gain a competitive edge in key strategic areas, access cutting-edge intellectual property and accelerate research, development and innovation.
“La Trobe University is a leader in world-class research, driving innovation across biotech, Agtech, and biomedical sciences and our research institutes are at the forefront of discovery, translating pioneering science into commercial success,” Professor Farrell said.
“The La Trobe University Eagle Fund offers industry partners a valuable opportunity for strategic collaborations that bridge the gap between research and commercialisation, unlocking access to top-tier research, talent, and funding opportunities to drive industry growth.
“It also encourages an entrepreneurial mindset for researchers, supporting them to create start-up companies to further their research and innovation for global benefit."
Help us deliver quality journalism to you.
As a free and independent news site providing daily updates
during a period of unprecedented challenges for businesses everywhere
we call on your support