Swedish agtech company OlsAro has raised €5 million in Seed funding to advance its SeedAX platform and bring its first salinity-resilient wheat product to market. The round was led by Industrifonden, with Nordic Foodtech VC joining as co-lead, and was announced on 14 October 2026 from Gothenburg, Sweden. This new investment brings the company's total funding to approximately €7.5 million and supports commercial expansion across international markets.
Round Details and Existing Investor Support
The Seed round attracted participation from existing investors Future Food Fund, PINC, AgFunder, and GU Ventures. It follows a €2.5 million Pre-Seed round completed in April 2024, bringing the company's total raised to date to about €7.5 million. The continued backing from existing investors underscores confidence in OlsAro's scientific foundation and commercial approach.
Developing Climate-Resilient Cereal Traits
Salinity already affects around one tenth of the world's cropland, while heat and drought place additional pressure on cereal production. OlsAro develops cereal traits and varieties, with an initial focus on wheat, to help maintain yields under these challenging conditions. Its SeedAX platform combines proprietary genetics, data, AI-driven trait discovery, and genetic technologies to identify and validate climate resilience traits.
The platform integrates these validated traits into elite germplasm for commercial seed programs. In field trials in Bangladesh, OlsAro's salinity-resilient wheat delivered an up to 41% yield increase over a moderately salt-tolerant variety under saline conditions. The wheat is now being tested in several global markets as part of the company's commercialization preparation.
Funding Priorities and Pipeline Expansion
The new capital will support international field trials and commercial work with seed company partners as OlsAro prepares to launch its first product. It will also fund further research and development, AI-driven trait discovery, and expansion of the company's intellectual property portfolio. These activities aim to strengthen the SeedAX platform for repeated use by seed companies.
Beyond salinity and heat tolerance, OlsAro is launching new programs targeting drought tolerance and nitrogen-use efficiency. The company also plans to move into other cereal crops, including rice, broadening the potential impact of its technology. This expanded pipeline positions OlsAro to address multiple agronomic stress factors and global crop markets.
Investor Perspectives
Elén Faxö, CEO of OlsAro, said the company has spent years proving it can identify and develop genetics that perform under major agricultural pressures. She described this round as a step toward turning that capability into a platform seed companies can use repeatedly. By expanding SeedAX across more traits and markets, OlsAro aims to help partners bring climate-resilient cereals to farmers faster and at greater scale.
Sara Frykstrand Ångström, Investment Manager and Head of Intelligence at Industrifonden, highlighted the scientific work behind the company, its field trial results, and its existing seed company partnerships. She noted that SeedAX offers an opportunity to build a scalable platform for seed companies developing climate-resilient varieties. Industrifonden views the combination of science and commercial traction as a strong foundation for growth.
With agriculture facing increasing pressure from salinity, heat, and drought, OlsAro's approach to trait discovery and validation addresses a critical need in global cereal production. The new Seed funding provides the resources to move from promising field results toward commercial partnerships and product launches. As the company expands into new traits and crops, it aims to support a more resilient and productive food system.