B-COS secures €1M to accelerate precision-fermented bioactives for crop protection

The round brings together a strong syndicate of backers—biotope by VIB, Agri Investment Fund (AIF) and VP Capital—and is complemented by a VLAIO Research Project grant. B-COS also announced an early discovery agreement with Nichino Europe, adding an important industry validation point early in the company’s journey.

With this new funding, B-COS will pick up speed on three fronts:

• scale-up activities, to move its platform toward robust, repeatable production;
• navigating the European regulatory pathway, a critical step toward commercialization; and
• advancing its first products into greenhouse and field trials, bringing performance data closer to real-world conditions.

B-COS is focused on developing defined, nature-inspired bioactives that trigger plants’ natural defenses, aiming to reduce reliance on conventional chemical pesticides while meeting the bar that farmers and industry demand: consistent, predictable performance in the field.

As the team puts it:

“What Europe needs is not just more biological alternatives, but better ones: products that deliver consistent, predictable results under real field conditions. This financing puts us in an excellent position to further unlock the potential of the technology platform.”

Congratulations to the B-COS founding team Chiara, Wouter and Maaike on this milestone! We’re excited to keep building with you as you move from platform to product.