Oxford weed control technology raises £22 million investment

Moa Technology, spun out from Oxford University in 2017, secured £22.2 million in Series C funding to accelerate development of its herbicide programmes and commercialise new products.

The round was co-led by existing investor Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and first-time backer Supernova Invest.

Dr Virginia Corless, CEO of Moa Technology, said: “This marks a major milestone for Moa Technology.

“It’s 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.”

New investors included Agri Investment Fund, GrainInnovate (a fund investing on behalf of the Grain Research Development Corporation and managed by Artesian), Infinity Investment Partners, and Magdalen College Oxford.

OSE, Lansdowne Partners, Parkwalk, and Oxford University Innovation also participated.

Moa Technology uses proprietary platforms to discover novel mode of action (MoA) herbicides designed to overcome resistance and provide farmers with effective, sustainable crop protection tools.

In 2025, the company identified a new category of products known as Moa Amplifiers.

These compounds are not herbicidal on their own but have the potential to reduce the amount or concentration of herbicides required, supporting productivity and environmental stewardship.

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.”

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.”

To date, Moa Technology has screened more than 900,000 compounds and identified over 80 promising mode of action areas.