ICIG Ventures invests in two

ICIG Ventures, the venture capital unit of the investment firm that owns WeylChem and multiple other European legacy chemical manufacturing firms, has recently participated in funding two ventures. It led the Series A funding round for LICIT Solutions, a maker of novel biocidal active substances and subscribed to a new venture investment in Ascribe, a developer of natural crop protection systems.

LICIT was founded in 2021 as a spin-out from the University of Tübingen. It has developed a biocidal substance called Aminolipin, which is said to have a novel mode of action, broad antimicrobial activity and a low toxicity profile, making it suitable for multiple applications. 

Financing began in December 2023. The proceeds from the current funding round will be used to expand LICIT’s production capacities and accelerate the market introduction of Aminolipin across new application areas.

The earlier investment in Ascribe, meanwhile, will enable Ascribe to prepare for launch of Phytalix, a small-molecule biofungicide with pending regulatory approvals in Brazil and the US that grew out of research at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University. It has been though 500 field trials in the world’s largest fungicide markets and has a distribution agreement with Nutrien for row crops in the US.

Phytalix is said to address critical barriers to biofungicide adoption in row crops, offering “a cost-effective disease control compatible with conventional practices”. ICIG and Ascribe will also explore opportunities to leverage WeylChem’s manufacturing platform to accelerate the commercial-scale manufacture of Phytalix.