VP Capital | Building resilience from the seed up: VP Capital invests in Gravity Gardens

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Building resilience from the seed up: VP Capital invests in Gravity Gardens

Building resilience from the seed up: VP Capital invests in Gravity Gardens

9 September - Producing enough food while reducing pressure on natural resources is one of agriculture's greatest challenges. Climate change, soil degradation and water scarcity are making crop establishment increasingly difficult, while existing methods to improve seed performance remain too costly for widespread use.

To help address this challenge, VP Capital has invested in Gravity Gardens, a Dutch seed-tech company developing an innovative technology that helps farmers establish stronger crops from the very beginning. We invested alongside Brightlands Venture Partners, Graduate Entrepreneur and angel investors to support the company's next stage of growth.

Gravity Garden team photo

The team behind Gravity Gardens

A new approach to crop establishment

Inspired by space research and further developed with support from the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC), Gravity Gardens has developed a dry process to strengthen seeds before planting. Requiring neither water nor chemical treatments, the technology offers a sustainable alternative to conventional priming methods while making the benefits of seed activation accessible to a much broader range of crops.

Through this approach, the company aims to help farmers build more resilient cropping systems under increasingly challenging growing conditions.

An important stage for scaling

The investment aligns closely with our impact-first strategy. Gravity Gardens contributes to our biodiversity and toxicity-free solutions by supporting more resilient agricultural production through an innovative non-chemical approach.

The company is now entering the next phase of its development. Together with technology partner Demcon, Gravity Gardens is developing industrial-scale equipment to lay the groundwork for further scaling, while trial programmes continue in parallel.. Combined with growing demand for sustainable alternatives, this creates a strong foundation for the company's next phase of growth.

"The most impactful innovations are often the ones that improve the foundations of a system. Seeds are exactly that foundation. Gravity Gardens has developed a technology that could make stronger crop establishment accessible to many more farmers while using fewer natural resources. That is what makes this investment so compelling. We look forward to supporting Paulino, Robin and the team as they bring this innovation to market."

- Erica van Eeghen, Senior Manager Ventures, VP Capital

Erica van Eeghen VP Capital

- Erica van Eeghen, Senior Manager Ventures, VP Capital

Building resilience for the future

Founded by Paulino Valdes and Robin Le Vigouroux, Gravity Gardens combines scientific innovation with a clear ambition: making the benefits of seed activation accessible far beyond today's niche applications.

By investing at this early stage, we support the company's ambition to accelerate an innovation that can contribute to a more resilient and sustainable food system.

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Building resilience from the seed up: VP Capital invests in Gravity Gardens

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