Bionica: Rainfast antifungal nanocoatings enabling safer, more effective crop protection – investment opportunity
Opportunity for
- Investors seeking exposure to novel, scalable agbiological and crop protection technologies
- Strategic agribusiness, agrochemical and input companies interested in commercial partnerships
- Industry partners to support large-scale field trials, regulatory approvals and go-to-market pathways
- Distributors and formulators looking to enhance existing crop protection products with improved efficacy and sustainability
Industry challenge
Current antifungal solutions in agriculture face limitations including poor weather resistance, high application frequency, and environmental risks. Most conventional fungicides wash off in rain, requiring repeat applications and contributing to excess chemical use, runoff, and regulatory pressures. With fungi causing $1–2 trillion in global crop losses each year, there’s urgent need for new solutions that protect crops without compromising sustainability, profitability, or human health.
Bionica, a spin out from RMIT university, have developed a novel plant spray technology which is rain-resistant and has a dramatically reduced pesticide load, up to 8,000 times less pesticide per season. Backed by 10 years of research, the team is now seeking partners to validate and deploy the technology in real-world conditions.
Current opportunity
Bionica is seeking $5 million AUD in growth capital to accelerate commercialisation and progress toward large-scale trials, partnerships, and regulatory approvals.
The raise will support:
- Expansion of large-scale field trials across multiple crops and geographies
- Regulatory approvals in Australia, the US and key global markets
- Team growth across technical, regulatory and commercial roles
- Continued IP development and protection
- Partnership development with agrochemical companies and distributors
Bionica’s technology acts as a drop-in adjuvant that can be used alongside existing active ingredients, significantly improving rain fastness, reducing application volumes and lowering the number of treatments required per season. The system is compatible with existing spray equipment and drone application, offering a clear pathway to rapid adoption without requiring changes to grower behaviour.
The company is targeting commercial partnerships and downstream acquisition pathways aligned with established agrochemical players, following a proven agbiotech commercialisation model.
Opportunity background
Bionica is a spin-out from RMIT University, founded by world-leading nanoscientist Dr JJ Richardson and Robert Mond, and supported through multiple government, accelerator and industry-backed programs. The core technology is based on phenolic and copper-based nanocoatings that bind strongly to plant surfaces, resist wash-off and enable sustained delivery of antifungal activity at dramatically lower doses.
Field trials have demonstrated near-complete prevention of fungal infection, including a two-year peach leaf curl study showing a reduction from almost 100% infection to less than 3% four months post-application. The technology has broad applicability across horticulture and high-value crops, with additional actives under development.
Bionica has secured early funding, partnerships with grower groups, multiple patents filed, and recognition through national innovation and science awards, positioning the company for its next phase of scale-up and commercial validation.