Fast-growing KC startup closes $20M in Series B funding to accelerate genetic progress in cattle
April 4, 2023 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
A well-muscled funding round is expected to help Lenexa-based Vytelle expand its global operations after having already scaled the agtech startup’s breakthrough in vitro fertilization, data capture, and AI-driven genetics tech to be easily accessed by more than half of the U.S. cow herd.
“This is indicative of strong market interest in our products and services,” said Kerryann Kocher, CEO of Vytelle. “Our mission is clear, and we are grateful for the support of our investors who join us on our journey to ensure meat and milk are viable food choices for future generations.”
The investment announced Tuesday for the precision livestock company was led by Forage Capital Partners, a Calgary-based growth equity fund that invests across the entire food and agriculture value chain. New investor Mountain Group Partners, joins such current investors as KCRise Fund, Open Prairie, Fulcrum Global Capital, Serra Ventures, and Grosvenor Food and Ag Tech.
Vytelle’s latest funding is expected to be focused on feeding three areas: continued expansion, product pipeline, and demand creation, Kocher said, noting the company now works with cattle producers in 21 countries.
“We intend to expand that growth specifically in Australia and New Zealand and then across the U.S.,” she continued. “That is a key fuel of getting out our value proposition to more customers around the world.”
Through Vytelle’s integrated technology platform, generations of genetic gains can be made in just a few years, Kocher said. The agtech startup’s pipeline is filled with tools, she explained, that allow it to help producers make selection decisions on the animals with which they choose to do advance reproduction in their herds.
“So that pipeline comes to life over the next five years,” Kocher added.
Vytelle is an integrated technology platform built to accelerate genetic progress in cattle; photo courtesy of Vytelle
Vytelle’s curation of the world’s largest multibreed efficiency database provides the infrastructure to impact bovine genetic progress rapidly — and progressive cattle producers can use the technology to multiply the impact of elite livestock productivity and profitability, sustainably delivering more protein with fewer inputs.
“Vytelle has proven their ability to scale and deliver consistent results for the benefit of cattle producers aiming to accelerate genetic progress around the world,” said Jim Taylor, partner at Forage Capital. “We are impressed with Vytelle’s track record of growth and delivery and are excited about what the future will bring.”
In December, Vytelle announced its formal arrival in Kansas City — having officially relocated its headquarters from Oregon to Lenexa City Center. The Kansas space is expected to serve as the primary hub for the company’s global operations including 13 global in vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratories, two technology centers, a vast field-based operations and commercial team, and a network of satellite partners.
“You have to continue to build the systems, build the backbone, build that momentum in a different and new way,” Kocher said. “That’s really the journey that we move towards.”
Click here to read more about Vytelle’s new headquarters in Lenexa.
“It’s exciting,” Kocher continued. “We’re continuing to leverage our base here in Kansas City with both KC Rise Fund and Fulcrum Global Capital joining in the round. We’re going to continue to hire more people and I suspect that some of those people will come into Kansas City, specifically, as we continue to establish our headquarters here. Over the next year, we’ll look to hire about 50 more people. So it’s a continued growth on both the revenue side and the people front.”
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