Dublin-based Antler Bio, an agritech company focused on gene expression in dairy farming, has raised $4.3M (nearly €3.67M) to expand its EpiHerd system. With this round, the company’s total funding, including grants, reaches $8.5M (nearly €7.26M).
The investment was led by The First Thirty Ventures, a VC firm focused on early-stage agricultural technologies that support health-related outcomes.
Additional investors included Endgame Capital and Generation-RE, an angel syndicate backing regenerative agriculture.
Naeem Lakhani, Managing Partner at The First Thirty, says, “At The First Thirty, our AgriHealth Investment Strategy backs world-class companies creating value where agriculture meets human health.”
“Antler Bio is a great example, combining biology and technology to help reshape the global food system. Their work supports animal welfare, enhances farm efficiency, and leads to improved nutrition for consumers. As a company at the forefront of this change, we’re proud to support their journey.”
Unlocking dairy farm potential
Antler Bio is an agritech company advancing livestock farming through gene expression technology.
Founded in 2020, the company developed EpiHerd—the world’s first platform that helps dairy farmers uncover how cows’ genes respond to environmental, nutritional, and health factors. By turning complex gene data into actionable insights, EpiHerd supports informed decision-making on farms.
Working with over 100 farms across the UK, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, EpiHerd has helped achieve up to 22 per cent increases in milk yield, along with measurable gains in milk fat, protein, fertility, longevity, and herd wellbeing.
Farmers using EpiHerd report an average return on investment of more than 7:1.
Led by CEO Maria Jensen and CSO Nathalie Conte, who bring expertise from the human and animal health sectors, Antler Bio is focused on making gene expression a core tool for sustainable, productive, and data-driven dairy farming.
Capital utilisation
Between April 2023 and April 2024, more than 440 dairy farms in the UK left the industry, affected by low milk prices, higher input costs, and changing regulations.
In the US, updates to the Federal Milk Marketing Order will shift incentives toward milk quality, and EU milk production is expected to fall to 149.4 million metric tons in 2025.
As farmers face growing pressure to achieve more with fewer resources, Antler Bio is offering a new approach. The company’s EpiHerd platform helps identify hidden factors affecting herd performance and supports decisions that improve output and herd condition, enabling farmers to gain more value from existing herds.
Maria Jensen, CEO & co-founder of Antler Bio, says, “Bringing a technology like EpiHerd to an industry that has never seen anything quite like it is no small task, but we’re incredibly excited about the future.”
“This investment will enable us to scale EpiHerd to thousands of farms across Europe, grow our team, and continue refining the technology to meet the evolving needs of farmers, benefiting their profits but, importantly, the well-being of their animals.”
Brief about the lead investor
The First Thirty (TFT) Ventures invests in early-stage agricultural technology companies that aim to improve human health outcomes. It focuses on seed-stage businesses using AI, biotechnology, and data to advance soil, plant, and animal health, with a view toward their impact on people.
The firm brings together experience from technology, agriculture, biotech, and healthcare to support founders building solutions with benefits across food and health systems. TFT’s portfolio includes companies such as Edacious, Antler Bio, and Cerve.
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