#9.

Phytelligence raises $11M, more to come. Up in Washington state, Phytelligence has raised another $5 million in its targeted $16 million Series B investment round — right now, the meter has topped $11.95M — the round is supposed to close this month. WRF Capital (investment arm of the Washington Research Foundation), Avrio Capital and the Cowles Company have been the major investors in this round.

Phytelligence is transforming the rootstock business via true-to-type plant material and shaves off meaningful time to saleable fruit— the technology platform is called MultiPHY and Phytelligence plants, says the company, have a less than 1 percent mortality rate, versus the 10-40 percent experienced by many growers. And ultimately, to grow up to faster with fewer inputs — we’ve seen claims around in global media of growing 5X faster — hmm, not sure about that but certainly reaching maturity much quicker with apples, cherries, peaches, and more would be a target for this Washington State spin-out.