Gravity Gardens raises €2.6M to scale chemical-free seed activation
What's the deal? Dutch startup Gravity GardensDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised €2.6 million in a pre-seed round to scale its dry, chemical-free seed activation technology. VP CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Brightlands Venture PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Graduate VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and a group of private investors backed the round.
What's the endgame? Gravity Gardens uses a dry process that adds no water, no chemicals, and leaves no coating on the seed. By eliminating the soaking and drying of conventional pre-treatment, it aims to make seed activation affordable for everyday field crops, not just high-value vegetable and flower seeds.
Why now? New EU regulation restricts adding microplastics to seeds from 2028. Growers still need their seed to perform, creating demand for ways to strengthen seeds without adding anything to them.
What's the money for? The round will help move from a working process to full-scale machines, developed with DemconDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, with market readiness targeted during 2027. The technology has already been through seven external trials, including validation by VertifyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Founded in 2024 by chief executive officer Paulino Valdés and chief technology officer Robin Le Vigourou, the team combines seed-industry and scientific expertise. It includes Benyamin Houshyani, who spent over a decade in seed research at BayerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → after completing a PhD at Wageningen University & Research.
The signal: The €2.6 million ranks in the 90th percentile of early-stage rounds in the Netherlands all-time, a notable size for a pre-seed. It reflects investor appetite for agtech that turns tightening regulation — here, the coming microplastics ban — into a commercial opening.
Read more: graduate.nl
Image credit: Gravity Gardens
