Gene-edited bananas, gas-sniffing satellites, virtual engineers: a week in impact funding

In March so far, startups tackling the sustainable development goals (SDGs) have already netted $914m, according to data from Dealroom.

From gene-edited crops tackling food security to satellites sniffing out methane leaks from space, here's our pick of five deals that really stood out from the past week alone.

Airmo

Gas-sniffing satellites just got a step closer to orbit.

Founded by CEO Daria Stepanova and Dr. Errico Armandillo, Airmo just raised a €5m seed to commercialise a methane-detecting sensor compact enough to fit on a small satellite – and precise enough to spot a car-sized leak from Low Earth Orbit.

Ananda Impact Ventures led the round, with participation from Unconventional Ventures, Kopa Ventures, Desai Ventures, Hypernova, and two EQT Group partners, Matthias Fackler and Francesco Starache.

Airmo plans its first satellite launch in Q2 2027.

Jimmy

Jimmy got cash.

The French small modular reactor (SMR) startup has secured a sizeable €80m: €40m in private equity and €40m from France's national innovation programme. VC investment comes from Omnes Capital, Serena, Noria Invest and others, according to Dealroom data.

Co-founders Antoine Guyot and Mathilde Grivet will put the funds towards the construction of a nuclear thermal generator for industrial and district heating applications.

Seprify

Vote of confidence from a furniture giant.

Swiss startup Seprify just landed a €13.4m Series A with a surprise lead investor: Inter IKEA Group. Founded by Lukas Schertel (CEO) and Oliver Polcher, the company has developed a bio-based replacement for synthetic whitening agents like titanium dioxide used in cosmetics, food, and coatings. IKEA's involvement suggests the platform has serious industrial potential beyond sunscreen.

Tropic Biosciences

Gene-edited bananas just got riper.

UK scaleup Tropic Biosciences has pulled in a $105m Series C to scale its gene-edited banana and rice tech. The round was co-led by Forbion and Corteva, with Just Climate, IQ Capital, Temasek, and others chipping in.

Tropic, founded in 2016 by Gilad Gershon, Eyal Maori, and Ofir Meir, has developed a non-browning banana named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2025.

Nice stuff, but, according to the company, demand isn't just driven by customer's desire for the perfect yellow banana. Its gene-editing tech could help fend off Panama Disease (TR4), a fast-spreading pathogen, which is currently threatening the $25bn banana industry. Tropic's resistant variety is targeting commercial deployment from 2027.

Delfos Energy

AI just got a job in energy.

Spanish startup Delfos Energy just closed a €3m seed extension, bringing its total to €10m.

Founded in 2017 in Barcelona by Guilherme Studart and Samuel Lima, the company builds AI "virtual engineer" software that monitors and optimises renewable energy assets – and is now supporting 1,000+ sites across Europe. Delfos aims to raise a Series A in for the next 12–18 months, with the US firmly in sights after that.

That's a wrap. Drop us a line if you have a deal coming up.

Pictured top: Samuel Lima (Delfos); Gilad Gershon (Tropic); Lukas Schertel (Seprify); Mathilde Grivet (Jimmy); Antoine Guyot (Jimmy); Daria Stepanova (Airmo).