By Janet Kanters

IMIO has raised US$12 million in funding to expand production of its microbial biologicals, which are designed to accelerate crop residue breakdown, return nutrients to the soil and improve performance for farmers.

The funding round was led by Sofinnova Partners, with additional investment from Chipotle’s Cultivate Next venture fund, Starshot Capital, Earth Foundry, Grow Together Fund and Serra Ventures.

The Chicago-based company will use the investment to establish new headquarters, laboratory and biomanufacturing operations in Chicago, expanding its capacity to supply biological products to more farms.

“We raised this money for a simple reason: our products are delivering results on farms across America, and there’s demand for more of them,” said Charles Smith, IMIO co-founder and CEO.

IMIO is focused on addressing one of the main barriers to biologicals adoption: confidence in product performance. In CropLife’s 2026 Biologicals Survey, 39 per cent of agricultural retailers and advisers cited trust issues as the leading reason biological products have struggled to gain market acceptance.

“That expectation has shaped IMIO from the beginning. We knew that earning trust would mean building products that delivered dependable performance, straightforward use, and outstanding ROI,” Smith said.

The company’s manufacturing process involves growing and testing each microbial strain individually before combining them in precise ratios and freeze-drying the finished product. The process is intended to maintain microbial viability during storage, transport and application.

IMIO’s flagship Re-Gen platform uses fungi, bacteria and yeast to break down crop residue after harvest, helping release nutrients back into the soil for the next crop. The company says residue breakdown can also reduce habitat for pathogens between growing seasons and make residue management and field preparation easier.

Re-Gen is activated with water immediately before application and can be applied through standard sprayers, irrigation systems or drones, according to the company.

Field performance data is a central part of IMIO’s approach to building grower confidence. University and on-farm trials across more than 10,000 acres in the U.S. Midwest during the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons reported an average corn yield increase of 11.9 bushels per acre on Re-Gen-treated acres.

The company also reports nutrient credits valued at up to $120 per acre from nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) recapture, as well as documented tillage savings of up to $120 per acre in produce production. These are company-reported results and may vary with field conditions and management practices.

Smith said the objective is to help growers recover more value from nutrients already present in crop residue while potentially reducing fertilizer requirements and fieldwork.

“Stalks, stover, and other plant ‘trash’ hold valuable nutrients growers have already paid for,” he said. “Re-Gen’s fungi, bacteria, and yeast help break down that residue and return those nutrients to the soil for the next crop.”

The new Chicago facilities will bring the company closer to customers while providing access to regional agricultural and biomanufacturing expertise. The investment is intended to increase manufacturing capacity as demand for its biological products grows.