Moa Technology raises £22.2m co led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Supernova Invest
This article covers Moa Technology, a foodtech startup spun out of Oxford University in 2017, which has raised £22.2m in a series C funding round co‑led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Supernova Invest to accelerate commercial development of its novel herbicide programmes and a new class of non‑herbicidal 'Moa Amplifiers'. The funding will advance late‑stage programmes towards market, expand discovery work and support development of alternatives for managing weed resistance that affect farmers and the agricultural sector.
Moa Technology, a foodtech startup spun out of Oxford University in 2017, has raised £22.2m in a series C funding round co-led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Supernova Invest to accelerate commercial development of its novel herbicide programmes and a new class of non-herbicidal “Moa Amplifiers”. The funding will be used to advance three late-stage programmes towards market and to expand earlier-stage discovery work.
Why it matters
Herbicide resistance is an expanding threat to crop yields worldwide, and the agricultural sector has limited new modes of action coming through the pipeline. Moa’s claim of more than 80 novel mode of action areas and multiple commercial R&D collaborations suggests a potential shift in how weed resistance could be managed. If its late-stage programmes and amplifier approach perform in larger trials, the company could offer farmers alternatives to existing chemistries at a time when regulators and customers are also demanding lower environmental impact.
Inside the product
Moa’s discovery engine, the GALAXY platform, has screened over 900,000 compounds and identified more than 80 novel mode of action areas that the company says work differently from current herbicides. The firm reports that after lab and glasshouse validation, its most advanced programmes have shown consistent performance in multi-season international field trials against hard-to-control weeds.
A distinct strand of the business is Moa Amplifiers, discovered in 2025. These are not herbicides on their own but are designed to reduce the amount or concentration of herbicide needed when used together with existing active ingredients. The company says equity financing will be supplemented by upfront and milestone payments from industry partners that are already collaborating on development and trials.
Moa has active R&D collaborations with major crop protection companies: Nufarm, Gowan Company, Certis Belchim and Corteva Agriscience. Those partnerships de-risk development and create potential commercial routes for successful programmes.
Who are the investors?
The round was co-led by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Supernova Invest. New investors include Agri Investment Fund (AIF), GrainInnovate (a fund investing on behalf of the Australian Grain Research Development Corporation and managed by Artesian), Infinity Investment Partners and Magdalen College Oxford. Existing backers supporting the round include OSE, Lansdowne Partners, Parkwalk and Oxford University Innovation.
The financing is structured as equity complemented by commercial partner payments, reflecting a common model in agritech where R&D collaborations provide near-term validation and milestone revenue.
In the announcement, Martin Fiennes of Oxford Science Enterprises said:
When we helped spin Moa out from the University of Oxford’s Plant Sciences Department in 2017, we saw that its technology platform had a unique and important approach to address the market’s need for herbicides capable of breaking weed resistance. The success of the platform’s discoveries since in the lab and field trials has confirmed Moa is on track to provide the new solutions farmers need to sustain agricultural productivity, and we’re delighted to be supporting the company again in this fundraising round.
In the announcement, Alexandre Biau of Supernova Invest said:
Weed resistance continues to spread. It is causing increasing yield losses, further undermining the resilience of farming operations, while climate change is expected to make weed control even more challenging. In response, the Moa team is redefining the innovation playbook for weed control by advancing both novel modes of action and its Moa Amplifiers strategy, expanding the toolbox available to farmers. Building on the company’s strong momentum and proven ability to execute, Supernova Invest is proud to support Moa’s journey to market.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of foodtech venture capital firms in the UK
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Dr Virginia Corless, CEO of Moa Technology, said:
This marks a major milestone for Moa Technology – a validation of the outstanding progress we have made not just in the laboratory, but also in striking commercial deals with leading industry partners around the world. We are particularly pleased that, through AIF in Europe and GrainInnovate in Australia, the farming sector itself is closely connected to the next phase of Moa’s development, helping accelerate delivery of our solutions to the fields where they are so urgently needed.
Corless’s comment highlights the dual strategy: advancing proprietary discovery chemistry while using partnerships and targeted investor relationships to speed field deployment in key markets.
The bigger picture
The financing underscores continued investor interest in agricultural innovation that can address resistance and sustainability pressures. University spinouts such as Moa remain a key route for early-stage translation of discovery science in the UK, and this round shows how institutional investors, specialist agritech funds and industry partners can combine to underwrite higher-cost field development.
For the UK and European ecosystem, the deal signals appetite among domestic and international backers for foodtech and agritech ventures that show both platform-scale discovery and credible routes to commercialisation through corporate collaborations.
They've invested in Moa Technology
Get to know these foodtech investors
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oxford Science Enterprises( ) The firm focuses on investing in Life Sciences, Health Tech, and Deep Tech, prim... Oxford  | ||||
 Supernova Invest( ) Supernova Invest focuses on supporting high-growth, deeptech start-ups across In... Paris, France  | ||||
 Agri Investment Fund( ) | ||||
 Infinity Investment Partners( ) Infinity Investment Partners is an independent investment firm dedicated to crea... London | ||||
 Magdalen College Oxford( ) | ||||
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 Parkwalk( ) Parkwalk is a leading UK growth fund manager focused on investing in world-chang... London | ||||
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