Pluton Biosciences, a startup leveraging the power of microbes to create cost-effective innovative solutions that address sustainability challenges facing agriculture, announces the close of a $16.5 M Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Illumina Ventures and RA Capital, with participation from existing investors Fall Line Capital, The Grantham Foundation, and First In Ventures, as well as new investors Wollemi, Radicle Growth (first investment from their second fund), and iSelect.

Pluton's mission is to drive agriculture to a carbon-negative outcome by leveraging Micromining™ and cutting-edge genomic technologies through a revolutionary approach to identify and deploy beneficial microbes and their natural products. Pluton discovers novel microbes and develops world-changing solutions to the planet's big problems, addressing challenges to climate and agriculture by tackling carbon sequestration and crop protection, sustainably improving the way we grow food.