On February 3, 2021, leading mission-driven food tech company Pairwise announced the close of a $90 million Series B financing. The funding for the round was led by Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund and Deerfield Management Company, with participation from new investor Temasek and existing investor Leaps by Bayer. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Temasek in the transaction.

Through its unique use of cutting-edge CRISPR technology, Pairwise aims to build a healthier world by introducing better fruits and vegetables with improved taste, enhanced convenience, increased shelf life, improved yield, simplified harvesting, or lengthened season availability. The company—which has built a crop trait development platform based on gene editing technology licensed from leading research organizations—believes the use of technology offers a transformative opportunity to open a new horizon for the $66 billion U.S. retail produce market, and is currently developing new types of leafy greens, berries, and cherries. Its first product is expected in 2022.

The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Temasek on the financing includes:

Corporate
Barry Taylor
Adam Bloom

Tax
Jonathan Zhu
Derek Wallace

Regulatory
Stephen Heifetz
Anne Seymour

For more information, please see Pairwise’s press release.