Cascadia Seaweed wraps up $4M in first close of its Series A round

Plus, another chance to become an assistant deputy minister in tech.

Author

Emily Edwards
December 01, 2024

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Dr. Jennifer Clark with a wall of sugar kelp. Source: Cascadia Seaweed

Cascadia Seaweed wraps up $4M in first close of its Series A round

Last month, Sidney’s Cascadia Seaweed announced the first close of its Series A funding round, raising $4 million of its $7 million target.

In a press release, the company said it would use the funds to build a commercial-scale seaweed biorefinery on the West Coast, increase biomass production, and expand sales and marketing of its liquid kelp extracts, biostimulants, and livestock products.

“We are thrilled with the support from both new and existing investors," said Michael Williamson, CEO of Cascadia Seaweed. “We’ve built a vertically integrated business that delivers real environmental and economic benefits, and this funding will enable us to scale up and provide surety of supply of innovative inputs to our customers while contributing to more resilient food production in North America.”

Cascadia Seaweed is focused on turning sustainably cultivated seaweed into premium products for land-based farmers. The seaweed can increase crop yields and livestock productivity, while reducing agricultural emissions.

The round included investment from WWF Impact (the impact-investing arm of World Wildlife Fund U.S.), Vere Ventures, Potato Impact Partners, VertueLab Climate Impact Fund, Realize Impact, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia, and Norfolk Green Ventures.

📰 More Victoria innovation news

⭐️ And I rise up: Jonny Morris, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, and Chris Forester, executive director of the Island Community Mental Health Association, joined a Chamber Chats podcast to discuss strategies for keeping up with your mental health during the holiday season.

🤝 I’ll be there for you: Open Ocean Robotics began a series of posts highlighting the company’s recent project with a government agency and Innovative Solutions Canada. Highlights will be shared over the coming month, or you can skip straight to the case study.

💡 Light it up: CICE launched the Call for Energy Storage Innovation in partnership with BC Hydro. CICE and BC Hydro will offer to $3 million in non-dilutive investment to projects focused on developing commercial pathways for scalable electricity storage and grid solutions.

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