What Fulcrum Global Capital does

Fulcrum Global Capital (FGC) is a Kansas City-based venture capital firm founded in 2019 by Duane Cantrell, Kevin Lockett, and John Peryam, all former executives of the Kansas Bioscience Authority. The firm invests at the early stage (post-seed, with reserved follow-on capital) in companies disrupting agriculture, animal health, and food supply chain technologies, with a stated preference for leading rounds and syndicating with strategic value-added investors. Its core differentiation is an LP base that is approximately 75% farmers, ranchers, and agricultural operators across the US Midwest, collectively managing 30+ million acres of row crops, 7 million acres of grazing, 5 million head of beef cattle, 250,000 head of dairy, 2 million head of swine, and 80 million head of poultry — a network activated through quarterly Producer Panels that connect portfolio startups with large-scale producer-LPs for direct voice-of-customer feedback.

FGC's revenue model follows standard VC economics: management fees (typically 1.5–2% on committed capital) plus carried interest (typically 20% above the hurdle) on exited investments. The firm closed its first fund at $36 million in 2020 and has since grown to 19 active portfolio companies spanning precision agriculture robotics (Sabanto Ag, Niqo Robotics, Precision AI, American Autonomy), animal health (Resilient Biotics), crop science (Plastomics, Talam Biotech, Verinomics, WeedOUT), food safety and quality (P&P Optica, NanoGuard), farm data (FarmTrace), cold chain (Peltier), sustainable materials (Green Dot Bioplastics), and food delivery (Tasty Urban). Notable realized exits include CoverCress (acquired by Bayer) and TeleSense (acquired by UPL's DECCO subsidiary), with Vytelle (livestock IVF) also listed as exited.

The firm's go-to-market is sales-led with a community overlay: deal sourcing relies on direct founder relationships and co-investor syndicates (DCVC Bio, Yara Growth Ventures, Trimble Ventures, BDC Capital, Bidra Innovation Ventures, IBB Ventures, At One Ventures, Finistere Ventures, and others), while portfolio validation flows through the Producer Panel mechanism. The investment team comprises three Managing Partners, a Senior Venture Associate (ex-Corteva), a Venture Associate, and an Analyst, supported by an advisory board including retired Deere Ag Division President David Everitt, former BNSF CEO Carl Ice, former Butterball CEO Rod Brenneman, and Lee Borck of Innovative Livestock Services.

Name

Fulcrum Global Capital

Legal name

Fulcrum Global Capital, LLC

Website

https://fgcvc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fulcrum Global Capital is a Kansas City-based venture capital firm that invests at the early stage in agriculture, animal health, and food supply chain startups. Its LP base is approximately 75% farmers and ranchers managing 30+ million acres, providing portfolio companies with direct producer validation through quarterly Producer Panels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital investments
• Agtech funding
• Animal health ventures
• Agricultural technology
• Supply chain investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Mound City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: VC firms typically charge annual management fees on committed capital (typically 1.5-2% of assets under management) to cover operational expenses.
2. Carried Interest: VC firms generate returns through carried interest (typically 20% of profits above the hurdle rate) when portfolio companies are exited through IPO, acquisition, or secondary sale.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fulcrum Global Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in and supports disruptive companies in agriculture, animal health, and food supply chain technologies. The firm deploys capital primarily in post-seed rounds, often leads financing, and provides active board participation, strategic guidance, and access to a unique network of large-scale US agricultural producer LPs through quarterly Producer Panels.

Product overview

Fulcrum Global Capital is a venture capital firm offering investment services to early-stage companies in agriculture, animal health, and ag-related supply chain technologies. Rather than a unified product platform, FGC's offering consists of its VC investment platform and a portfolio of approximately 20 investee companies across multiple verticals including: food safety and quality (P&P Optica, NanoGuard), sustainable materials (Green Dot Bioplastics), soil and crop health (Talam Biotech, WeedOUT, Plastomics, Verinomics), animal health (Resilient Biotics), precision agriculture robotics (Precision AI, Sabanto Ag, Niqo Robotics, American Autonomy), farm data management (FarmTrace), food delivery (Tasty Urban), energy management (GlacierGrid), and cold chain solutions (Peltier). Three portfolio companies have achieved successful exits: CoverCress (acquired by Bayer), TeleSense (acquired by UPL), and Vytelle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fulcrum Global Capital Investment Services Early-stage venture capital investment, board participation, and strategic value-add support for disruptive companies in agriculture, animal health, and food supply chain technologies. Includes access to FGC's quarterly Producer Panels connecting portfolio companies with large-scale farmer LPs for real-world feedback and early customer adoption.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% of LPs are farmers, ranchers, and agricultural operators
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Novus InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Entered a strategic co-development partnership with Resilient Biotics to create a novel feed solution supporting immune health and reducing respiratory challenges in pigs. This is a technology/product partnership, not just capital.
• Axiota Animal HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Entered a multi-product agreement with Resilient Biotics to co-develop new BRD technology and create a leading development platform for microbial products in cattle.
• Wilbur-ElliscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Announced collaboration with Talam Biotech on US food crop solution for heavy metals, part of a multiyear effort to develop Nonpareil almond self-pollinating varieties.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• AgFunder: AgFunder is a leading global agrifoodtech venture capital firm investing across the agriculture and food value chain, making it the closest direct competitor to FGC's sector-focused model. Both firms target early-stage agtech startups with similar GTM, fundraising, and syndication approaches.
• Finistere Ventures: Finistere Ventures is an agtech-focused venture firm that has co-invested with FGC in TeleSense and pursues a similar thesis around early-stage agriculture technology. Comparable in fund-stage focus, deal size, and value-add orientation.
• S2G Ventures: S2G Ventures is a sector-focused venture and growth fund targeting food, agriculture, and ocean tech, with a similar strategy of investing in companies reshaping the food and ag value chain. It represents a larger, more institutional-scale direct peer.
• Lewis & Clark AgriFood: Lewis & Clark AgriFood is a food and agriculture-focused investment firm that co-invested with FGC in Plastomics. It pursues early- and growth-stage agfood deals from a Midwestern base, directly comparable in geography, stage, and vertical.
• Open Prairie: Open Prairie is a private equity firm focused on rural and agricultural opportunities that co-led Vytelle with FGC. It targets similar Midwestern agtech and rural economy themes with overlapping LP profiles.
• Cultivian Sandbox Ventures: Cultivian Sandbox is an agtech-focused venture capital firm investing in early- and growth-stage companies across the food and agriculture value chain. It overlaps directly with FGC's investment scope and stage preferences.
• Fall Line Capital: Fall Line Capital is a venture capital firm investing in founder-led, venture-stage agriculture technology businesses. Comparable to FGC in its rural/agriculture thesis, Midwest adjacency, and early-stage orientation.

Emerging players

• Yara Growth Ventures: Yara Growth Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Yara International that has co-invested with FGC in Sabanto. It is an emerging player in agtech CVC, with partial overlap in deal flow and similar vertical specialization but a corporate balance-sheet mandate.
• Cavallo Ventures: Cavallo Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Wilbur-Ellis, a major agricultural inputs distributor, that co-invested with FGC in Sabanto. Comparable as an emerging agtech-focused CVC with overlapping portfolio and deal flow.

Regional players

• DCVC Bio: DCVC Bio is the biology-focused fund of DCVC that co-invested with FGC in Sabanto. Comparable as a deeptech-bio investor with partial overlap in agricultural biotech deals, though its core focus is broader biotech rather than ag-only.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fulcrum-global-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments24 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fulcrum Global Capital