Government · 5 deals
Every published round Hort Innovation took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TerraBlaster | Seed | 29 Aug 2026 | $12.5m | Participant | Artesian VC portfolio, Artesian VC portfolio | |
| BioScout | Seed | 8 Aug 2026 | $6.8m | Participant | agrospectrumasia.com, finsmes.com, agroempresario.com, winssolutions.org, This Week in Australian Startups, app.fundz.net, agritechdigest.com, Dealroom, AgFunderNews | |
| PlasmaLeap Technologies | Series A | 4 Aug 2026 | $28m | Participant | RenewEconomy (Thu 13 Aug 2026), RenewEconomy (Thu 13 Aug 2026), SmartCompany (Fri 6 Mar 2026), SmartCompany (Wed 4 Mar 2026), Artesian VC portfolio, Artesian VC portfolio, Investible portfolio | |
| Agovor | Pre-seed | 12 Feb 2026 | $3m | Participant | AgFunderNews, Tenacious Ventures, Tenacious Ventures portfolio | |
| PlasmaLeap Technologies | Series A | 2026 | ~$30m | Participant | GrainCorp Ventures (Fri 13 Mar 2026), GrainCorp Ventures (Fri 13 Mar 2026), Startup Daily (Fri 6 Mar 2026), Startup Daily (Tue 3 Mar 2026) |
Companies Hort Innovation has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agovor | 12 Feb 2026, Pre-seed | 1 | 0 | |
| BioScout | 8 Aug 2026, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| PlasmaLeap Technologies | Modular plants for local production of fertilisers and fuels | 2026, Series A | 2 | 0 |
| TerraBlaster | 29 Aug 2026, Seed | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Hort Innovation, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Hort Innovation has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Hort Innovation did.
Stories naming Hort Innovation. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Weekly roundup: Blackbird confirms a record fund close and Galileo reaches a first close, Genesis merges with Proudi, IREN secures massive debt, and several startups report raises, grants and program wins.
Uniseed announces portfolio company BioScout's A$6.75 million round co-led by Demea Sustainable Investment and Astanor to scale its crop disease sensor network internationally.
GrainCorp's venture arm has joined a Series A backing PlasmaLeap Technologies, an Australian maker of modular on-farm fertiliser systems, which will use the funds for its first hubs in NSW and Tasmania.
Weekly roundup of ten Australian and New Zealand startup raises totalling nearly $194 million, topped by Neara's $90 million round at a $1.1 billion valuation, with Splose, Operata, HAMR Energy and Adora also covered.
Tenacious Ventures explains why it led Agovor's $3 million pre-seed round alongside Hort Innovation, profiling the startup's compact autonomous farm tractors, founders, new chief executive, and grower savings.
Also AgFunderNews
Artesian's write-up of its first Yield summit in Melbourne, where agrifood leaders discussed AI, biologicals, robotics, agri-energy and biosecurity, and how RDCs, investors and corporates can together speed Australian agricultural innovation.
Grower R&D body Hort Innovation is launching a horticulture-focused venture fund with VC firm Artesian to back startups serving Australian fruit, vegetable and nut growers.
SparkLabs Cultiv8 has picked ten cleantech startups for the first intake of its new accelerator, run from Orange with backing from Cultiv8 Funds Management and several agricultural research bodies.