Joint investment in a Seed round for Cyns, a biotechnology company to unlock the next chapter of black soldier fly (BSF) farming in Latin America
Sumitomo Corporation, through Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil S.A. has announced a joint investment in a Seed round for Cyns, a biotechnology company located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to unlock the next chapter of black soldier fly (BSF) farming in Latin America. Lambarin Investimentos, a Brazilian family office and wealth management firm, has also joined the Seed Funding Round together with Sumitomo.
Cyns is the leading biotechnology company specialized in sustainable insect-based animal nutrition in South America, having been the first company to obtain regulatory approval to produce and market black soldier fly-based ingredients for animal nutrition in Brazil. The company is located in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, the most prominent agtech valley in Brazil, and has developed a unique, cost-competitive horizontal BSF rearing system that delivers high bioconversion rates with minimum HVAC requirements by leveraging Brazil’s naturally-suitable conditions for BSF rearing and large availability of sustainable food byproduct streams which are used as the source of nutrition for BSF larvae.
Cyns originated in 2015 as a project incubated by Bug Biological Agents, which was the pioneer in insect rearing for biological pest control in Latam. In 2020, it received its first angel investment from Lambarin Investimentos, and in 2022 Cyns opened Brazil’s first BSF industrial pilot to receive regulatory approval. Since then, Cyns has successfully introduced its ingredients to the market, which can now be found in dog treats, bird and other exotic pet foods available in Brazil’s largest pet retail outlets.
Insect-based nutrition is one of the leading solutions to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of animal nutrition, which together with agriculture, make up the 2nd largest source of greenhouse gas emissions with roughly 25% of all emissions. Insect-based ingredients are known for having a much lower carbon intensity than those of its plant and animal-based ingredient counterparts, contributing to reducing the carbon footprint of pet food and animal feed by at least 60-70% or more.
Together with the investment, Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil has also inked a commercial partnership agreement with Cyns, under which Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil will be in charge of application development and R&D, as well as marketing Cyns’ products in the Americas Region.
