Amatera, a France-based biotech developing non-GMO platforms for climate-resilient perennial crops, has raised €6M ($7M) in seed funding co-led by Demea Sustainable Investment and Oyster Bay Venture Capital. The CellTera platform uses plant cell biology, robotics, and AI to screen varieties at the cellular level. The capital will scale automation, grow teams, and expand from perennials like coffee and grapes to annual staple crops.
EU Deal Unlocks Gene-Edited Breeding
The round closes just after the EU's December 2025 deal easing rules for simpler gene-edited crops. Plant biotech funding surges amid climate threats, with Tropic Biosciences raising $70M+ for tropical crop gene editing and Ohalo Genetics securing $100M+ in boosted breeding tech. Amatera's non-GMO cell screening targets perennials where traditional methods fail, aligning with regulatory tailwinds.
Coffee Land Halves by 2050
Climate change threatens 50% loss of Arabica coffee land by 2050, while Fusarium wilt endangers bananas and mildew hit 90% of Bordeaux vineyards in 2023. Conventional breeding takes 20+ years and millions per variety. Current gene editing struggles with hard-to-breed perennials due to regeneration bottlenecks.
CellTera Screens Thousands Faster
Amatera's CellTera sequences and screens cell lines before regenerating plants, making breeding 2x faster and 10x cheaper than greenhouse trials. Unlike Tropic Biosciences, which relies on gene edits, Amatera induces variation via non-GMO methods compatible with editing. This unlocks varieties like Robustica coffee blending Robusta resilience with Arabica taste.
As CEO Omar Dekkiche explained:
"Today, the standard approach is to take these cells, turn them into plants, and then do genotyping… We are completely changing this."
VCs Bet on Screening Bottleneck
Demea, with €1.5B AUM and agtech hits like Sencrop, brings climate conviction, while Oyster Bay, post-Oatly IPO, adds foodtech scale. Existing backers PINC (Paulig's CVC) and Mudcake reinforce coffee synergies. The mix signals shift from mission to growth capital in resilient ag biotech.
Plant Biotech Grows to $76B
The plant biotechnology market stands at $51.73B in 2025, projected to reach $76.79B by 2030 at 8.2% CAGR, driven by resilience needs. Competitors like ClimateCrop ($0.28M) focus on physiology, but Amatera leads perennials. EU's NGT deregulation accelerates adoption.
Plant PhD Team Wins i-Lab
Co-founder and CTO Lucie Kriegshauser holds a PhD in plant molecular biology from Strasbourg and led INRAE research on metabolic engineering. CEO Omar Dekkiche, ex-BNP Paribas M&A, previously founded a deeptech startup. Their i-Lab 2023 win validates domain expertise missing in many agtech teams.
Annual Crops Expansion Ahead
Funds target engineering and science hires, platform industrialization, and seed company partnerships for annuals. First coffee harvests arrive in five years, with varieties 25% cheaper to produce. Total raised hits €7.5M.