Cultivian Sandbox Ventures
Venture capitalChicago · Seed–Late Stage · 7 people tracked
Also known as CULTIVIAN SANDBOX VENTURE MANAGEMENT II LLC · CULTIVIAN SANDBOX VENTURE MANAGEMENT, LLC
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Investment thesis
Cultivian Sandbox Ventures focuses on the food and agriculture sector, which it views as undergoing major change driven by demographics, globalization, sustainability pressures, new energy sources, and food safety and security concerns. The firm invests in new and emerging companies working to increase sustainable production, equitable distribution, and healthy consumption. Founded by experienced operators from leading food and agriculture companies and backed by strategic limited partners, it supports companies that commercialize needed technologies and collaborate with strategic partners. The firm invests across the full value chain of food and agriculture to advance greater sustainability, security, and safety in the world's food system.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 15, 2026.
Team · 7 people
from public directories
What they invest in
from 14 of 26 portfolio companiesBiotech ×8AgTech ×7FoodTech ×6AI & Machine Learning ×4Cleantech ×2Climate Tech ×2Consumer ×2Direct to Consumer ×2
HQs:United States×14Ireland×1
Investments · 26 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2023 · 12022 · 12019 · 12017 · 12016 · 22014 · 17 dated
Agrivida develops enzyme technology for animal feed and nutrition, improving efficiency in poultry, swine, and other livestock production.
AgTechBiotechFoodTechMassachusetts, US
R. Michael Raab(Executive Officer)Daniel Meagher(Executive Officer, Director)Jeremy Schley Johnson(Executive Officer)
BoardRob Johnson(Director)Mark Austin(Director)Robert Bucklin(Director)
Board seatRon Meeusen· per SEC Form D · $21.3M raise · filed Jan 2015
Co-investorsMiddleland CapitalPresidio VenturesARCH Venture Partners
AgTechEmeryville, US
Eric Davidson(Director)inTravis Bayer(Director)inPaul Beck(Executive Officer)inDave Vosburg(Executive Officer)Adam Litle(Executive Officer, Director)inDerek Norman(Director)in
Board seatRon Meeusen· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsCavallo VenturesS2G InvestmentsFall Line CapitalFootPrint CoalitionLeaps by BayerNorthpond Ventures+2 more
Vestaron develops peptide-based insecticides derived from naturally-occurring peptides such as those found in spider venom, produced through fermentation, offering new modes of action for crop protection.
AgTechBiotechCleantechClimate TechNew MaterialsKalamazoo, US
Glenn King(Founder)inJuan Estupinan(Executive Officer, Director)inDawn de los Santos(Executive Officer)inRobert Kennedy(Executive Officer)Nancy Newman(Executive Officer)inJohn C. Sorenson(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatRon Meeusen· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsArgonautic VenturesCavallo VenturesEndeavor8iSelect FundMichigan Capital NetworkPangaea Ventures Us Inc.+3 more
AgTechMorrisville, US
STEVE CARNEVALE(Executive Officer)JOY PARR DRACH(Executive Officer, Director)inANDREW GRAHAM(Executive Officer)in
BoardDENNIS DOUGHERTY(Director)BOB SHAPIRO(Director)inBEN SHELTON(Director)
Co-investorsMiddleland Capital
Minneapolis, US
Patrick Christie(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardRobert Shapiro(Director)inRichard Pavelski(Director)
Co-investorsAliment CapitalPontifax AgTechMiddleland CapitalPontifax Global Food Agriculture TechnologySandbox Industries
Copper Cow Coffee sells Vietnamese-style coffee made from climate-resilient robusta beans sourced from organic-certified farms in Vietnam, blended with real herbs and spices for flavor.
Advanced ManufacturingConsumerDirect to ConsumerFoodTechLos Angeles, US
Deborah Wei Mullin(Executive Officer, Director)Debbie(Founder)
Co-investorsArborview CapitalJoyance PartnersSiddhi CapitalSilverton PartnersSocial StartsCRCM Ventures+2 more
Culture Biosciences provides software and bioreactor hardware solutions for bioprocess development, enabling researchers to design, monitor, and analyze experiments remotely with cloud-native analytics and AI/ML insights.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechCloud ComputingHealthtechSan Francisco, US
Will Patrick(Founder/CEO)inMatt Ball(Founder/CTO)in
Co-investorsCompoundDCVC (Data Collective)GRIDS CapitalHemisphere Ventures LLCThe E14 FundY Combinator+4 more
Debut applies AI and biotechnology to discover and formulate cosmetic ingredients and beauty products, decoding skin and hair at the genomic level to create novel actives.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechConsumerSan Diego, US
Joshua Britton(Founder)in
Co-investorsGS FuturesMaterial ImpactBreakout VenturesKdT VenturesSandbox IndustriesACVC Partners+8 more
Descartes Labs was a Los Alamos-spinoff geospatial analytics company that used AI to process satellite imagery for agriculture, mining, insurance, and government clients.
Santa Fe, US
Mark Johnson(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Steven Brumby(Director)Mike Warren(Founder)inSuzanne McBride(Director)Andrew Ziolkowski(Director)James Montgomery(Director)
Co-investorsCorrelation VenturesCrosslink CapitalDCVC (Data Collective)Hemisphere Ventures LLCIndustrious VenturesSINEWAVE VENTURES+5 more
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Geospatial analytics company that turns multi-source satellite data into forecasts for commercial and government users.
Co-investorsCrosslink CapitalExpansion Venture CapitalSun Mountain CapitalUnion Grove Venture PartnersValuestream VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)
BiotechCambridge, US
Farren Isaacs(Executive Officer, Director)Jay Konieczka(Executive Officer, Director)Marco Farsheed(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardRon Meeusen(Director)
Des Moines, US
Steven Brockshus(Executive Officer, Director)in
BoardAmanda Donohue-Hansen(Director)in
Co-investorsNext Level Ventures
Full Harvest builds an agentic intelligence platform that orchestrates transactions and operations across the North American fresh produce supply chain, helping buyers and growers navigate climate volatility, labor shortages, and regulatory complexity.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply Chain
Co-investorsAstiaDoon Capitalmark vcPortfoliaRadicle GrowthRethink Impact+3 more
Geltor uses a proprietary biodesign and precision fermentation platform to create and commercially produce novel protein ingredients, including collagens, for beauty and personal care formulators.
BiotechFoodTechNew MaterialsWellness & Fitness
Alexander Lorestani(Founder)inNick Ouzounov(Co-founder)in
Co-investorsAgronomicsAlwyn CapitalArgonautic VenturesBaruch Future VenturesBlue Horizon CorporationCavallo Ventures+14 more
IngredientWerks is a molecular farming company that engineers plants to produce plant-based proteins and ingredients for the alternative protein market.
AgTechBiotechFoodTechWoburn, US
Matt Plavan(Chief Executive Officer)inMichael Raab(R&D Lead)Jeremy Schley-Johnson(Vice President)inSteve Snyder(Director)James Schultz(Director)
BoardClinton Bybee(Director)in
Co-investorsARCH Venture PartnersOpen PrairieSandbox Industries
Nuritas uses a proprietary AI platform, the Nuritas Magnifier, to discover and clinically validate bioactive peptide ingredients derived from natural sources.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechFoodTechDublin, IE
Dr. Nora Khaldi(Founder & CEO)inJohn Casey(Chief Manufacturing & Supply Chain Officer)inConor Walshe(Chief Financial Officer)inAlison Anderson(Chief People Officer)in
Co-investorsCleveland AvenueMcWin Capital PartnersMarc BenioffEuropean Circular Bioeconomy FundKeiretsu ForumSandbox Industries
Supergut makes fiber-based food and supplement products aimed at supporting gut microbiome health for consumers.
Direct to ConsumerFoodTechWellness & Fitness
Marc Washington(Founder)in
Co-investorsAcre Venture PartnersAlpha EdisonThe Family FundRocana VenturesSandbox Industries
Yardstick develops soil carbon measurement technologies to reduce the cost of measuring soil organic carbon and enable evidence-based climate-positive agriculture practices.
AgTechCleantechClimate TechData & InfrastructureDover, US
Christopher Tolles(Executive Officer, Director)Kevin Meissner(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsBreakthrough Energy VenturesLOWERCARBONLowercarbon CapitalPillar VCWorkshop Venture PartnersAsymmetric Capital Partners+2 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
ConserviscorpCooks VentureCooksventureLeafNovihumNovihum TechnologiesSound Ag
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesYardstick · morningstar.com · Jun 11, 2026
Descartes Labs · aerospacedefenserevieweurope.com · Apr 11, 2026
Copper Cow Coffee · nasdaqprivatemarket.com · Apr 3, 2026
Culture Biosciences · finsmes.com · Dec 16, 2025
Geltor · geltor.com · Oct 13, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Cultivian Sandbox Ventures made?
- Cultivian Sandbox Ventures has 26 tracked investments, 3 of which have exited.
- What stage does Cultivian Sandbox Ventures invest at?
- Cultivian Sandbox Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Late Stage stages.
- What is Cultivian Sandbox Ventures's typical check size?
- Cultivian Sandbox Ventures typically writes checks of $5M – $15M.
- What sectors does Cultivian Sandbox Ventures focus on?
- Cultivian Sandbox Ventures focuses on AgTech, AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Cleantech, FoodTech, New Materials.
- Where is Cultivian Sandbox Ventures located?
- Cultivian Sandbox Ventures is headquartered in Chicago, US.
- Does Cultivian Sandbox Ventures lead rounds?
- Cultivian Sandbox Ventures typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Cultivian Sandbox Ventures co-invest with?
- Cultivian Sandbox Ventures most often shares deals with Cavallo Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, among 15 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 3
Crosslink Capital is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm investing in enterprise and consumer technology startups across North America.
Euclid is a venture capital firm focused on investing in vertical AI companies that are redefining software across industries.
The JDRF T1D Fund is a venture philanthropy investor focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D), backing companies developing disease-modifying therapies and cures for the condition.
Firms observed investing alongside Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Cultivian Sandbox Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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