Cavallo Ventures

Cavallo Ventures, Inc. is the venture capital arm of Wilbur-Ellis Holdings, a privately owned family business nearing its centennial anniversary, and is based in San Francisco, California. Established in 2017, Cavallo Ventures focuses on investing its own capital in innovative entrepreneurs who prioritize building successful companies without shortcuts. The firm targets a diverse range of sectors, including livestock feed, pet nutrition, aquafeed, ingredients for cosmetics, human and animal nutrition, as well as health. Additionally, it explores alternatives to industrial chemicals, agricultural innovations, novel agrochemical active ingredients, water management, irrigation, soil biology, and resource conservation.

Son Vo

Managing Director

Michael Wilbur

Founding Member & President

Past deals in Agriculture

Solasta Bio

Seed Round in 2023
Solasta Bio develops environment-friendly products that meet a global need for new and effective crop protection.

Agtonomy

Seed Round in 2022
Agtonomy is a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist platform for agriculture vehicles.

Sound Agriculture

Series C in 2021
Sound Agriculture uses molecular discovery to create climate-resilient crops, enhancing harvest yields for growers. They also use an innovative life science approach to sustainably increase farming productivity. The company was founded in 2013 and headquartered in Emeryville, California.

Andes

Series A in 2021
Andes develops technologies for a more sustainable and efficient agriculture. Our solutions are based on beneficial microbes that have naturally co-evolved through thousands of years with plants. Microbe-based formulations are customized through scientific research and an advanced predictive software using Artificial Intelligence. Our technology will allow farmers to have better yields, grow their crops faster, cultivate on traditionally unsuitable lands, use less fertilizers and pesticides, and successfully face the challenges of global climate change. Microbe-based solutions have the potential to foster a new green revolution in a healthy, responsible and environmentally friendly way, and Andes plays a key role in this transformation.

Sound Agriculture

Series C in 2020
Sound Agriculture uses molecular discovery to create climate-resilient crops, enhancing harvest yields for growers. They also use an innovative life science approach to sustainably increase farming productivity. The company was founded in 2013 and headquartered in Emeryville, California.

Crop Enhancement

Series B in 2020
Crop Enhancement LLC, an early stage specialty materials company, develops anchoring and controlled-release formulation technologies for agricultural chemicals. The company’s formulation technologies enable release of chemical agents, such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers into target microenvironments. Crop Enhancement LLC was founded in 2011 and is based in San Jose, California.

AgroSpheres

Series A in 2019
AgroSpheres develops novel technologies that aim to set a new standard for bio-based delivery of active ingredients. It uses a unique platform technology for crop protection solutions and other industrial applications. The company is an encapsulation and delivery technology that dramatically enhances the performance of a broad range of crop protection products including fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides. AgroSpheres was founded in 2016 and is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Crop Enhancement

Venture Round in 2019
Crop Enhancement LLC, an early stage specialty materials company, develops anchoring and controlled-release formulation technologies for agricultural chemicals. The company’s formulation technologies enable release of chemical agents, such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers into target microenvironments. Crop Enhancement LLC was founded in 2011 and is based in San Jose, California.

Sound Agriculture

Series B in 2017
Sound Agriculture uses molecular discovery to create climate-resilient crops, enhancing harvest yields for growers. They also use an innovative life science approach to sustainably increase farming productivity. The company was founded in 2013 and headquartered in Emeryville, California.

Asilomar Bio

Series B in 2017
Asilomar Bio is creating crop protection tools to enhance harvest yields and efficiency by leveraging their breakthrough technology in plant science and chemical manufacturing.