FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chantilly, VA: TrueAlgae (operating name of GreenTech Ventures, Inc.) is pleased to announce Soilworks Natural Capital’s (Soilworks) investment in the company. The funds will enable TrueAlgae to increase its research regarding the impact of TrueSolum™, its algae based soil amendment, on soil quality and carbon sequestration. The investment will also support sales and marketing efforts to reach farmers and help them improve their soil and, in turn, their crop yields and quality.
TrueAlgae is an algae biotechnology company with an innovative, scalable algae production system. TrueAlgae’s patent-pending production technology brings a closed-loop, contaminant free capability to quickly produce large quantities of valuable high-quality algae. Currently the company is providing algae products for use in agriculture to rejuvenate the earth’s depleted soil organically, thus improving crop yields, farmer’s profits, and the environment.
Soilworks Natural Capital is a public benefit company on a mission to accelerate the regenerative food movement by helping launch scalable businesses. The company is led by Lew Moorman and Ed Byrne, two highly successful entrepreneurs and investors, who developed a passion for regenerative agriculture while investing in and operating software companies at Scaleworks, a Texas-based venture equity firm.
“We are excited to welcome Soilworks as our investor and to work together to support bringing life back to the soil. We believe that healthy soils can play an important role in climate change. Our 100% organic soil amendment, TrueSolum, has proven to increase microbial diversity and organic matter in the soil leading to improved crop outputs”, said Nathaniel Jackson, CEO of TrueAlgae. “Lew and Ed are ideal partners for us as we all believe that we have an urgent need to replenish the soil and support a healthier environment.”
Soilworks believes that it’s time to re-design the food system with a focus on nutrition, soil, and planetary health. Regenerative agriculture is the most practical and cost-effective method of producing more nutrient-dense food that also increases soil carbon content. Earth’s soils contain about 2,500 gigatons of carbon, more than three times the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and four times the amount stored in plants and animals.
”I am excited by TrueAlgae’s highly scalable, proprietary microalgae production systems. Our team is confident that the company’s high-quality agricultural inputs will not only improve soil fertility and increase yields, but they will also enable growers to reduce their use of toxic, synthetic pesticides,” said Lew Moorman, Co-Founder of Soilworks Natural Capital.
About TrueAlgaeTM
TrueAlgaeTM, the operating name of GreenTech Ventures, Inc., is a US based biotechnology company with global reach. The revolutionary closed-loop, proprietary algae production technology allows delivery of high-quality microalgae for a multitude of uses including agriculture, aquaculture, human and animal nutrition as well as personal care products.
About Alliance Forum Foundation
The Alliance Forum Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization in a Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC that conducts many initiatives in the areas of anti-malnutrition, microfinance, new industry creation, and Public Interest Capitalism. The Alliance Forum Development Programme (AFDP) is its international development division focused on reducing poverty and improving the quality of life in developing countries through initiatives that combat malnutrition, bolster education and health care with advanced technology, and educate a global cadre of professionals in microfinance.
About DEFTA Partners
DEFTA Partners was founded by George Hara in 1984 as a venture capital firm focusing on innovative technology. DEFTA primarily makes seed and first round investments in early stage information technology and life science companies with global opportunities to accelerate growth. DEFTA has offices and partners in the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong.
About George Hara
George Hara is the Chairman of the Board, Alliance Forum Foundation and Group Chairman, DEFTA Partners Group. George also serves as Special Advisor to the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister of Japan, Global Agenda and Meta Council Member of the World Economic Forum. George’s public service record includes board of director positions of San Francisco University, Zoo, and Opera where he helped revitalize these organizations. He also advises heads of state, governments, and international organizations.
George founded DEFTA Partners in 1984 and became a Partner at Accel Partners in 1990. He was considered one of the most prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists in ICT in the 1990s and has led more than twenty companies – including Borland, PictureTel, SCO, Tradex, and Unify – to success. Since 2000, Mr. Hara has served as chairman of the board or helped to manage a number of U.S., Israeli, and UK companies including Microcosm Commutations (Merged with Conexant in 2000), CyberGold (Merged with MyPoints.com in 2000), Accelerated Networks (NASDAC IPO in 2000) , Riptech (Merged with Symantec in 2002) Oplus Technologies (Merged with Intel in 2005), Virtual Ink (Merged with Newell Rubbermaid), Broadware (merged with Cisco in 2007), Transitive Tech (merged with IBM in 2008), and Fortinet (NASDAQ IPO in 2009).
