Tall Grass Ventures invests in U.K.’s PheroSyn

Welcome to this week's Sunday Briefing. In this issue, read about a new investment from Tall Grass Ventures, plus 8 other stories you may have missed.

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🗳️ Question of the Week

Tall Grass Ventures invests in U.K.’s PheroSyn

Tall Grass Ventures, a Calgary-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage agri-food tech startups, has invested in PheroSyn, a U.K. agtech company specializing in the development of insect pheromones for sustainable crop protection. The funding will accelerate PheroSyn’s mission to replace harmful chemical pesticides with more sustainable alternatives.

“Quality of founders is at the top of the list in the venture world, and we found [founders] Mary and Daniel excellent to work with, very down to earth, and extremely motivated to succeed in this endeavour,” said Chris Edwards, managing partner at Tall Grass Ventures. “Insect pheromones are not easy to synthesize accurately, and so PheroSyn’s unique technological approach coupled with a market waiting for a solution, really made us stop and take notice.”

A spin-out from chemical ecology research group at Rothamsted Research in the U.K., PheroSyn is focused on providing farmers and growers with effective and sustainable pest management solutions.

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🤝 Funding, Deals, and Partnerships

• Edmonton startup lands US$16M to make gaming more immersive with AI. Artificial Agency, an AI startup advancing generative behaviour for gaming, this week emerged from stealth. Calgary.Tech

• OCIF invests in SAIT to build innovation in Calgary’s construction and manufacturing sectors. The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) will invest $996,000 over three years into Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s (SAIT) Alternative Construction Technologies (ACT) Hub to accelerate the development of new construction and manufacturing materials and processes. Calgary Economic Development

• UCalgary emissions-testing lab receives vital funding from Alberta government. Program gives cleantech startups a safe space to test their latest innovations. University of Calgary

📰 Need To Know

• The wage gap in Canadian tech is growing with April Hicke. This week, Erin is joined by April Hicke, co-founder and chief growth officer at Toast. They discuss the new report from Toronto Metropolitan University about the growing wage gap in Canada's tech industry. Alt-Text

• Calgary snags second spot in national ranking of venture capital flow. Venture capital is flowing through Alberta and Calgary is the heart of investment. Calgary.Tech

• Calgary’s next economy: DecisionHub takes the bias out of grant funding. When Greg Maxin was working in a student club back in university and they were working with a non-profit organization in an investment club, he said the group was making decisions on with whom to invest money. Livewire Calgary

• Ocumetics begins manufacturing innovative intraocular lenses for human trials. Ocumetics Lens technologies have been designed to create an accommodating intraocular lens, which fits within the lens capsule and eliminates the need for corrective lenses, using the natural kinetics in the eye ciliary muscles and zonules. Calgary.Tech

• Innovators of the Week: Julian Mulia and Megan Leslie create affordable and accessible wound care technology. NanoTess award-winning wound care salve enhances the healing process of wounds stuck in an inflammatory cycle. Avenue Calgary