AVAC Group (AVAC), a multi-faceted venture capital firm, launched a new $15 million venture capital fund, Carrot Ventures Fund I, L.P. (Carrot Ventures). The fund’s financial backers include AVAC Ltd. and Farm Credit Canada (FCC).

The Carrot Ventures team has invested in technology start-ups for over 20 years and has created a one-of-a-kind venture model for Canadian agricultural technology commercialization.

Rather than investing in existing businesses, Carrot was launched to address systemic challenges faced by AgTech start-ups. Carrot sources and vets new technologies, recruits experienced leadership, and creates new companies around the tech and talent. Carrot Ventures will also lead the first round of company financing.

The goal is to offer holders of AgTech intellectual property (IP) a novel option to commercialize their IP, and to offer syndicating AgTech investors a stream of compelling start-ups in which to invest. As a result, shareholder value is maximized by creating new companies focused on solving real market problems in the sector. Carrot puts novel technology in the hands of professional and experienced leadership, making sure companies are properly structured and financed.

“The Carrot company formation model provides a way to accelerate from start-up to market leadership very quickly, and we are excited to provide inventors with a third option as they consider commercializing their technologies”, said Warren Bergen, President, AVAC Ltd. “We are also very pleased that Canada’s leading agriculture lender, FCC, is partnering with us on this new approach to create Canadian AgTech companies.”

“Carrot Ventures is an innovative approach to AgTech commercialization in Canada,” said Rebbecca Clarke, FCC Vice President & Treasurer. “AVAC has developed a great team of experienced investment professionals and is a long-recognized venture investor in the technology space. We recognize the value of the Carrot Ventures model and the positive impact this fund can have on AgTech innovation”.

AVAC is a Canadian venture capital firm which applies its knowledge, network, and capital to advance the commercialization of food and agricultural technologies to achieve a sustainable world.

FCC is Canada’s leading agriculture and food lender, with a healthy loan portfolio of more than $41 billion. Our employees are dedicated to the future of Canadian agriculture and food. We provide flexible, competitively priced financing, management software, information and knowledge specifically designed for the agriculture and food industry. As a self-sustaining Crown corporation, we provide an appropriate return to our shareholder, and reinvest our profits back into the industry and communities we serve. For more information, visit fcc.ca.