What NovaTero BioAg does

NovaTero BioAg (legal entity HS2M Comércio Imp e Exp de Insumos Agrícolas LTDA) is a Brazilian agtech startup founded in 2015 and headquartered in Joinville, Santa Catarina. The company develops and commercializes Rootella BR, Brazil's first and only registered inoculant based on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture since 2018. The product line includes the standard Rootella BR (2M+ active propagules per hectare, applied at 120g/hectare for seed treatment) and Rootella BR Ultra, a concentrated powder formulation containing at least 167,000 Rhizophagus intraradices propagules per gram. The technology is built on proprietary strains selected over 25+ years of research, with the fungi forming symbiotic associations with plant roots to enhance phosphorus absorption, expand root reach, improve drought resilience, and aid recovery of degraded soils.

The company serves commercial grain, pulse, and specialty crop producers across southern and southeastern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, and Minas Gerais), targeting soybean, corn, wheat, beans, rice, coffee, and potato applications. NovaTero BioAg employs a hybrid go-to-market model combining a distributor/reseller network (with an active 'Quero revender' recruitment funnel), direct sales through commercial agents targeting larger farms, and an agronomist/consultant channel. Marketing is content-driven, relying on a substantial agricultural blog, downloadable technical resources, LinkedIn presence, agricultural media appearances, and field day demonstrations.

The business generates revenue through one-time unit sales of inoculant products, with documented field-trial outcomes of 5-35% productivity gains, ~50% average phosphorus fertilizer savings, and R$422-R$1,660/hectare economic uplift. With only 6-8 employees and no disclosed external funding, NovaTero BioAg operates as a lean, founder-led private company (co-founders Bernardo Arnaud as Chairman and Rodrigo Moreira as Commercial Director), concentrated exclusively on the Brazilian market where it holds an exclusive regulatory position.

Name

NovaTero BioAg

Legal name

HS2M Comércio Imp e Exp de Insumos Agrícolas LTDA

Website

https://rootellabr.com.br

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NovaTero BioAg develops and sells Rootella BR and Rootella BR Ultra, Brazil's only registered arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculants, serving commercial soybean, corn, wheat, bean, rice, coffee, and potato farmers with biological seed treatments that improve phosphorus absorption and crop yields.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Biologicals (Mycorrhizal Inoculants)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Seed Inoculants & Biological Seed Enhancers (Rhizobia, Mycorrhizae, PGPR) (AFABAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biological Seed Treatments & Inoculants (within Biologicals) (AFABAEAL), Biofertilizers & Microbial Inoculants (IMAEAEAG), Biostimulant-Enhanced Fertilizers (Humic/Fulvic, Amino Acids, Seaweed Blends) (AFABACAK)

Keywords

• Mycorrhizal inoculants
• Biological agriculture inputs
• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
• Seed treatment products
• Agricultural biologicals

Headquarters

HQ city

Joinville

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Rootella BR Product Sales: Sales of mycorrhizal inoculant products (Rootella BR and Rootella BR Ultra) to agricultural producers across Brazil. Products are applied via seed treatment at 120g per hectare. Revenue derived from direct product sales to distributors, resellers, and commercial farmers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NovaTero BioAg develops and manufactures biological agricultural inoculants based on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) under the Rootella BR brand. The flagship Rootella BR, and the more concentrated Rootella BR Ultra, are applied as a seed treatment at 120 grams per hectare to enhance root development, improve phosphorus absorption, and increase crop productivity and resilience. The inoculant is the only AMF-based product registered in Brazil and is sold to commercial farmers and agribusinesses.

Product overview

NovaTero BioAg offers a focused portfolio of biological agricultural inputs centered on mycorrhizal inoculants. The company provides two products: Rootella BR (the primary product) and Rootella BR Ultra (a higher-concentration formulation). Both are biological inoculants composed of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that form symbiotic relationships with plant roots to enhance nutrient absorption, increase root system development, improve crop resilience to environmental stress, and aid in degraded soil recovery. The products are distributed as powders for seed treatment and are certified for organic agriculture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rootella BR: Mycorrhizal inoculant with high concentration of vigorous endomycorrhizae, containing over 2 million active propagules per hectare. The only arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi-based inoculant registered in Brazil.
• Rootella BR Ultra

Products and services

• Rootella BR Rootella BR is NovaTero BioAg's flagship mycorrhizal inoculant, a powder-based biological input containing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores applied as a seed treatment at 120 grams per hectare. It is designed for commercial farmers producing soybean, corn, wheat, rice, beans, and sugarcane, and is documented to deliver 5–35% productivity gains and up to 50% phosphorus fertilizer savings, with more than 74,000 hectares treated since launch. It is the only AMF-based inoculant registered in Brazil.
• Rootella BR Ultra Rootella BR Ultra is a more concentrated version of NovaTero BioAg's Rootella BR mycorrhizal inoculant, offering a higher AMF propagule density per gram of product. It is also applied as a seed treatment and is targeted at the same commercial farmer and agribusiness customers in Brazil seeking to enhance root development, phosphorus uptake, and crop yields.

Quantifiable outcome

• 74,000+ hectares treated with Rootella BR in 3 years
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Bioceres Crop Solutions: Argentina-based provider of agricultural biological and specialty inputs for South American row crops. Comparable as a regional Latin American biologicals player targeting soybean, corn, and wheat farmers with similar product categories.

Broad incumbents

• Novonesis (formerly Novozymes): Global leader in biological solutions with extensive agricultural microbial portfolio. Comparable as a major biological inputs incumbent competing in the broader agricultural biologicals space, including soil and crop health products that overlap with mycorrhizal inoculants.
• Lallemand Plant Care: Canadian subsidiary of Lallemand Inc. producing biological plant care products including inoculants and biostimulants. Comparable as an established biological-inputs player with overlapping product categories in agriculture, though broader and more international than NovaTero.
• Koppert Biological Systems: Dutch global leader in biological crop protection and natural pollination. Comparable as an established biologicals player with adjacent product lines (biostimulants, soil health) relevant to NovaTero's mycorrhizal inoculant market.
• Bayer Crop Science: Global agrochemical giant with growing biologicals portfolio and significant Brazilian presence. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose biological offerings compete in the same farmer channels as NovaTero's mycorrhizal inoculant in Brazil.
• Valent BioSciences: U.S.-based subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Company producing biorational and agricultural biological products. Comparable as a larger established biologicals producer with overlapping crop input categories, though broader portfolio and global scale.
• Corteva Agriscience: Global agricultural input company with a biologicals portfolio including seed-applied technologies. Comparable as a broad incumbent in row-crop biological inputs with established Brazilian distribution and farmer relationships.

Direct peers

• Symborg: Spanish agtech offering mycorrhizal inoculants and other biological inputs for agriculture. Directly comparable to NovaTero in the AMF mycorrhizal space, with broader international footprint producing similar products for crop producers.
• Groundwork BioAg: Israel-based company developing mycorrhizal inoculant products for row crops. Directly comparable to NovaTero as a specialist in AMF-based biological seed treatments, with similar product positioning and technology stack.

Emerging players

• Indigo Ag: U.S.-based agtech developing microbial seed treatments for row crops. Comparable as an emerging microbial inoculant player targeting similar crops (soybean, corn, wheat) and offering farmers biological alternatives to traditional inputs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novaterobioag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about NovaTero BioAg