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Rob Schultz reposted thisRob Schultz reposted thisAgtech startup Quercus Biosolutions has secured a $5 million seed round to build a new class of crop protection using AI-designed mini proteins tailored from scratch. By adapting generative AI tools from drug discovery, the platform engineers precise protein-protein interactions that overcome evolved herbicide resistance while optimising the molecules from day one for low-cost microbial fermentation... Jonathan Lightner | Matt Crisp | Elaine Watson | #agtech #ai #artificialintelligence #biomanufacturing #biologicals #deeptech #precisionagExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteinsExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteins
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Rob Schultz reposted thisRob Schultz reposted thisCould AI-designed proteins provide a new weapon against herbicide-resistant weeds? Quercus Biosolutions has raised an oversubscribed $5m seed round to advance a new category of crop protection products based on designer mini proteins. Rather than screening naturally occurring proteins, the startup uses generative AI tools originally developed for drug discovery to design proteins from scratch. These bind to validated biological targets in weeds—but potentially in different ways from conventional small-molecule herbicides, which could help overcome existing resistance. The company already has five active programs and multiple field trials underway. With the new funding, it plans to expand its herbicide pipeline, begin regulatory work, advance at least one product toward late-stage development and explore new applications targeting fungi, insects and other pests. Jonathan Lightner Matt Crisp Serra Ventures, LLC Flyover Capital #cropprotection #glyphosate #herbicides #investing #agtech Dan Kerr Rob Schultz AgFunderExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteinsExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteins
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Rob Schultz shared thisHuge congratulations to Matt Crisp, Jonathan Lightner and the whole team on closing Quercus Biosolutions oversubscribed $5M seed round. I’m genuinely excited that Quercus is leading the new revolution in biologics. Their AI-designed mini-protein platform is one of the most promising approaches I’ve seen to deliver the efficacy growers need with the environmental profile the market increasingly demands. Thank you to the entire syndicate that joined us - Starshot Capital, Flyover Capital, The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Rootstock Capital Management, Iowa Corn, AgriCap Fund, Kentucky Corn Plus, Ag Ventures Alliance, and Ag Startup Engine and others. Grateful to partner with investors who share our conviction in the long-term vision for the future of crop protection. #genAI #AgTech #Biologicals #CropProtection #climatesmartagriculture #herbicides #agbiotech https://lnkd.in/gJaBZpg2Exclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteinsExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteins
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Rob Schultz reposted thisRob Schultz reposted thisIts pretty simple once you get going with it. Our team are on hand to help. Start your 30 day free trial today: https://hubs.ly/Q04khw350
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Rob Schultz reposted thisRob Schultz reposted thisBig news for OT defenders. Accenture is acquiring a majority stake in Dragos and we're joining forces with runZero and NetRise to build the most complete xOT cybersecurity platform on the market. Asset visibility. Exposure assessment. Firmware-level device intelligence. Threat detection. One platform. Robert M. Lee continues to lead Dragos as an independent business. Our vendor-neutral approach isn't changing. Read Rob's blog: https://hubs.la/Q04lR7bD0 Press release: https://hubs.la/Q04lQPvG0 #otsecurity #otcybersecurity #Dragos #Accenture #Cybersecurity #icscybersecurity #criticalinfrastructureprotection
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Rob Schultz reposted thisRob Schultz reposted thisEveryone talks about the size of the #NIL market. I think the bigger story is where the money comes from next. The future isn’t more sponsorship dollars. It’s media budgets. Retail media budgets. Performance budgets. College athletes have something most creators don’t: deep credibility in the communities where they compete. That geographic relevance creates a unique opportunity to connect authentic local influence with measurable retail outcomes. Connecting that influence to measurable business outcomes, NIL becomes a lot bigger than sponsorship. That’s the opportunity we’re building at Opendorse. #RetailMedia #SportsMarketing #CreatorEconomy #BrandMarketing #NIL https://lnkd.in/g9CXUhYSOpendorse introduces Opendorse One, Athlete Commerce Media to NIL portfolioOpendorse introduces Opendorse One, Athlete Commerce Media to NIL portfolio
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Rob Schultz reposted thisRob Schultz reposted thisGeneric AI can book your flight. It cannot run your milling network. It cannot optimize workforce allocation across a harvest season. It cannot rebalance a protein supply chain when three disruptions hit simultaneously. It cannot make the call on which customer commitment to protect when margins are already thin and the planning window is closing. Those decisions require something a foundation model does not arrive with. Decades of accumulated domain knowledge. The constraint logic of these industries. The relationships between variables that take a career to understand. Most AI platforms learn your business over time. That is too slow and too expensive for agrifood and manufacturing, where every delayed decision has a downstream consequence that shows up quietly in the margin before anyone notices. Today SWARM Engineering announced $10M in Series A funding led by S2G Investments and AgRogue Growth Partners, with participation from Radicle Growth, Grit Road Partners, Middleland Capital, Open Prairie Ventures, Serra Ventures, LLC, and Trailhead Capital. This is not capital raised on a promise. It is capital raised on a thesis that these industries deserve AI that arrives knowing how they operate. Domain knowledge that is native, not acquired. Intelligence built on the ontology of agrifood and manufacturing from day one. The operators running the most complex supply chains and feeding the world should not have to teach their planning system what a milling network is. SWARM already knows. 𝗧𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 ! https://lnkd.in/g_NjxmhpSWARM Engineering Raises $10M Series A to Transform Operational Decisions with AI — SWARMSWARM Engineering Raises $10M Series A to Transform Operational Decisions with AI — SWARM
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Rob Schultz reposted thisProbably the best writeup I've seen on CamoAg in this week's Upstream Ag Insights. A fast catch-up on how to enable your team to prospect more confidently and modernize your GTM motion. #agribusiness #agsales #agrimarketingRob Schultz reposted thisWe believe in a new way of enabling ag commercial teams - across sales, agronomy and marketing - to prospect and understand farmer operations. Read all about it from Upstream Ag Insights.
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Rob Schultz reposted thisRob Schultz reposted thisI don't know if I've shared this recently, but our team at CamoAg has built some pretty remarkable tools for farm land brokers and appraisers. So this week I'm back in the truck to show you how it works.
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Rob Schultz liked thisRob Schultz liked thisAfter more than three decades in construction technology, I've decided it's time to retire. Over the past few months, we have been working out transition plans and finishing a few critical projects. In October, I'll step away and begin a new phase of life. Looking back, what I'll remember most isn't the technology...It's the people. Early in my career, Jim Taylor gave me my first opportunity in construction and construction technology. Working alongside founders like Scott Unger and Brian Moore showed me what entrepreneurial leadership really looks like. Jim Lynch demonstrated that leadership begins with integrity. And long before BIM became mainstream, Peter Thompson helped me see the potential for digital models to fundamentally change construction. I'm equally grateful to Jon Elliott for bringing me to Nemetschek and to Usman Shuja and Yves Padrines for the opportunity, trust, and support to help grow Build & Construct over the past few years. To everyone else I've worked with—colleagues, customers, partners, competitors, mentors, and friends—thank you. You've shaped my career in ways you probably don't realize. One of the greatest gifts in a career is having the opportunity to choose when it's time for the next season. I'm grateful to be able to make that decision with appreciation for what we've accomplished and genuine excitement for what's ahead. I believe construction is entering one of the most exciting periods in its history. Every generation of technology has helped remove barriers between information and the people making decisions. I believe AI is the next major step—not replacing people, but helping project teams make better decisions, earlier and with greater confidence. I also believe Nemetschek Group is exceptionally well positioned for that future. Its portfolio, deep domain expertise, and commitment to openness give it a unique opportunity to help shape the next era of our industry. Between now and October, my focus remains where it should be: ensuring a smooth transition and finishing well. After that, I'm looking forward to more time with family, more miles on the trail, more sawdust in the workshop, and creating the space to selectively engage where I can still learn, contribute, and help others succeed. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. It's been an incredible ride, and I can't wait to see what this industry builds next. #ConstructionTechnology #ConTech #AEC #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Gratitude #NextChapter
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Rob Schultz liked thisRob Schultz liked thisAgtech startup Quercus Biosolutions has secured a $5 million seed round to build a new class of crop protection using AI-designed mini proteins tailored from scratch. By adapting generative AI tools from drug discovery, the platform engineers precise protein-protein interactions that overcome evolved herbicide resistance while optimising the molecules from day one for low-cost microbial fermentation... Jonathan Lightner | Matt Crisp | Elaine Watson | #agtech #ai #artificialintelligence #biomanufacturing #biologicals #deeptech #precisionagExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteinsExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteins
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Rob Schultz reacted on thisRob Schultz reacted on thisCould AI-designed proteins provide a new weapon against herbicide-resistant weeds? Quercus Biosolutions has raised an oversubscribed $5m seed round to advance a new category of crop protection products based on designer mini proteins. Rather than screening naturally occurring proteins, the startup uses generative AI tools originally developed for drug discovery to design proteins from scratch. These bind to validated biological targets in weeds—but potentially in different ways from conventional small-molecule herbicides, which could help overcome existing resistance. The company already has five active programs and multiple field trials underway. With the new funding, it plans to expand its herbicide pipeline, begin regulatory work, advance at least one product toward late-stage development and explore new applications targeting fungi, insects and other pests. Jonathan Lightner Matt Crisp Serra Ventures, LLC Flyover Capital #cropprotection #glyphosate #herbicides #investing #agtech Dan Kerr Rob Schultz AgFunderExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteinsExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteins
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Rob Schultz reacted on thisRob Schultz reacted on thisEvery so often a technology comes along that redefines what’s possible. Today we at Quercus Biosolutions announced the closing of an oversubscribed $5m seed round. At the intersection of genAI and biology, there is a massive platform opportunity to meet the latent demand for innovative, effective, and affordable #CropProtection solutions. Jonathan Lightner and I believe this is a category creation moment that will have lasting positive impacts for #farmers, the #agrifood value chain, and the environment. Joining this syndicate is a terrific cohort across ag investors, grower-backed investors, climate investors, and tech investors - an increasingly rare lineup. Grateful to Serra Ventures, LLC for leading and others who share the vision and are supporting in this journey. And of course Elaine Watson at AgFunder News for picking this up. Starshot Capital Iowa Corn Flyover Capital The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment Ag Ventures Alliance Ag Startup Engine Kevin Van Trump Jacqueline Heard Gusui Wu Anna Rath Franck Dayan David Longo Jim Borel Jonathan Gressel Steven Gutteridge Thomas Sakmar #genAI #agtech #agbiotech #herbicides #climatesmartagriculture https://lnkd.in/gw3n8VrfExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteinsExclusive: Quercus Biosolutions closes $5m seed round to target resistant weeds with designer proteins
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Rob Schultz liked thisRob Schultz liked thisWe’re at Foodpro in Melbourne this week! Come find us at booth AJ4 - we’ll be showing how AI-powered vision sees everything your best supervisor sees, all day, on every line. Stop by, say hi, and let’s talk yield, quality, and food safety.
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Rob Schultz liked thisRob Schultz liked thisUtah was just named Best in Show State Pavilion at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C. 🇺🇸 This recognition belongs to the incredible volunteers, organizers, and partners who poured their time, talent, and creativity into sharing Utah’s story with the nation. Thank you for representing our state so well and for helping showcase what makes Utah special. Congratulations to everyone who made this possible. You’ve made Utah proud. Freedom 250
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🚀 Verif-y is redefining digital record management. With 9 State DOE contracts, 200+ institutions onboarded, and 90%+ margins, this AI-powered SaaS platform is solving a $20B+ global problem: fragmented, insecure, and outdated education and credential systems. Now raising $5M Seed funding to accelerate U.S. and international growth. 👉 For VCs and institutional investors: this is defensible, AI-driven SaaS with regulatory moats — the right product, right time. See www.verif-y.com Then DM me for more info. Join us on this funding round? Follow me on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/e8bZ8srt
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