Written by Hadar Sutovsky, ICL VP Corporate Investments & GM of ICL Planet Startup Hub

Executive Summary: In the face of mounting environmental challenges and the rising demand for resilient agricultural solutions, ICL Group launched its corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, ICL Planet Startup Hub, to drive transformational innovation & strategic growth. This case study explores the journey from ICL’s strategic investment in Lavie Bio to an in-depth R&D collaboration—and ultimately, to ICL’s acquisition of Lavie Bio in 2025. It reflects the success of ICL Planet’s “collaboration-first” strategic CVC model and demonstrates how strategic investing can accelerate technology, open new markets, and deliver long-term corporate value that reshapes a corporation’s future in emerging markets such as agricultural biologicals.

Corporate Venture Capital – A Catalyst for Innovation: Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) has become a driving force behind innovation across industries. According to Global Corporate Venturing (GCV), CVCs are uniquely positioned to blend strategic intent with capital, helping corporates enter adjacent markets, access frontier technologies, and foster cultural transformation.

Over the past decade, corporate venture capital (CVC) has evolved from a niche function to a driving force behind global innovation, reshaping how corporations build strategic growth. Once perceived primarily as tools for passive partnership building or technology scouting, modern CVC arms now serve as platforms for transformation, innovation acceleration, and market-making power.

Key data from the March 2025 PitchBook–GHIF report:

• CVC-led deals more than doubled (694 in 2014 to 1,500 in 2024).
• Deal value tripled ($13B in 2014 to $39.5B in 2024).
• Over 50% of global venture deal value in 2024 included CVC participation.

CVC-backed startups perform better:

• $289.2B in exit values with CVC vs. $31.4B without.
• Failure rates halved: 4.7% vs. 9.5%.
• Graduation to next funding rounds doubled.
• Early-stage valuations were at least 2x higher with CVC involvement.

The 2024 Global Venturing report reinforces that top CVCs like XCarb by ArcelorMittal and Btomorrow Ventures by BAT act as transformation agents by embedding collaboration terms and aligning investments with strategic reinvention.

ICL and the Rise of ICL Planet Startup Hub: Launched in 2021, ICL Planet Startup Hub is the strategic investment arm of ICL Group, focused on early-stage startups in food, agriculture, climate, and sustainability. Its defining feature is its collaboration-first investment thesis.

ICL Planet’s strategic pillars:

• Business Development: Explore M&A and market expansion.
• External R&D Leverage: Accelerate innovation via startup tech.
• Ecosystem Engagement: Cultivate a culture of innovation at ICL.

Each investment includes strategic collaboration—joint development, pilots, commercialization—ensuring alignment and long-term mutual value. This model reflects the role of CVC as an agent of change in corporate transformation.

The Biologicals Opportunity: Agricultural biologicals such as biostimulants, biopesticides, and microbial products support sustainable agriculture by reducing chemical dependency and improving crop resilience.

Biologicals deliver:

• Lower environmental impact.
• Enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress (heat, drought).
• Reduced use of synthetic inputs.

For ICL, this space aligned perfectly with its ESG goals and core business, opening new opportunities for innovation-led leadership.

Strategic Investment in Lavie Bio: In August 2022, ICL invested $10 million in Lavie Bio via a SAFE agreement. Lavie Bio, a subsidiary of Evogene, uses AI-powered platforms (BDD and MicroBoost) for microbial discovery. The deal included a co-development agreement for bio-stimulants focused on abiotic stress mitigation.

Partnership in Action – From AI Discovery to Product Pipeline:

• 2024 milestone: Over 12 novel strains discovered computationally.
• Greenhouse trials confirmed efficacy, shelf life, and compatibility.
• AI platform 10x more accurate than traditional methods.
• Validated strains progressed to field trials; regulatory submissions planned for 2026.

This demonstrated how a corporate–startup partnership can accelerate R&D and shorten time-to-market.

Strategic Outcomes and Acquisition: In 2025, ICL acquired Lavie Bio, realizing its end-to-end strategic vision from investment to integration.

Strategic Gains:

• Full integration of Lavie Bio’s AI biologicals engine.
• Expanded and active product pipeline.
• Revenue-generating products scaling globally.

Operational Integration:

• New biologicals power hub lab established within ICL.
• ICL’s infrastructure fast-tracks Lavie Bio’s tech to market.

This success positions ICL Planet as a strategic growth engine, showcasing how CVC aligned with core business delivers transformational results.

Lessons and Key Success Factors:

Despite challenges—technical complexity, AgTech investment slowdown—the ICL-Lavie partnership thrived due to:

• Clear shared goals.
• Trust and strong interpersonal connections.
• Open data sharing and co-ownership.
• Joint product development governance.

The collaboration embedded startup agility into ICL’s R&D and commercial ecosystem, enabling this to mature into a transformative acquisition.

The Road Ahead: ICL’s integration of Lavie Bio is just the beginning. The fusion of AI discovery and global scale is now building a next-generation biologicals platform.

This journey demonstrates that a collaboration-first CVC model can unlock sustainable growth—for the startup and the corporate parent alike. For ICL Planet, this success validates its model and encourages deeper investments in FoodTech, ClimateTech, and AgTech.

CVC done right isn’t just about funding—it’s about building the future.

Source – ICL