Insights
Search Results
Client Highlights
12.17.25
Wilson Sonsini Advises Hexagon Bio on Multimillion-Dollar Joint Venture with Corteva
On December 16, 2025, Corteva, a global leader in agricultural technology, and Hexagon Bio, a biotechnology company pioneering a new way to discover nature-derived medicine, announced a multimillion-dollar joint venture (JV) to accelerate the development of new crop protection solutions inspired by nature. The JV is the first in the agriculture sector for Hexagon Bio and the first in the pharmaceutical industry for Corteva. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Hexagon Bio on the transaction.
The partnership brings together Corteva’s billion-dollar nature-inspired crop protection franchises and bacterial natural product discovery capabilities with Hexagon Bio’s natural-product discovery platform to advance the companies’ respective pipelines across agriculture and human health. Hexagon Bio’s platform combines microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, chemistry, and synthetic biology to identify and characterize novel natural products, uncovering diverse mechanisms not obvious from the chemical structure or conventional techniques and allowing for more efficient molecule discovery.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Hexagon Bio on the transaction included Ken Clark, Norm Hovijitra, Aleks Vitomirov, Lance Brady, Christina Poulsen, Adrian Broderick, Sara Pollock, Jacob Morales, Henry Yen, Myra Sutanto Shen, and Rob Sherrill.
For more information, please see the companies’ joint news release.
The partnership brings together Corteva’s billion-dollar nature-inspired crop protection franchises and bacterial natural product discovery capabilities with Hexagon Bio’s natural-product discovery platform to advance the companies’ respective pipelines across agriculture and human health. Hexagon Bio’s platform combines microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, chemistry, and synthetic biology to identify and characterize novel natural products, uncovering diverse mechanisms not obvious from the chemical structure or conventional techniques and allowing for more efficient molecule discovery.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Hexagon Bio on the transaction included Ken Clark, Norm Hovijitra, Aleks Vitomirov, Lance Brady, Christina Poulsen, Adrian Broderick, Sara Pollock, Jacob Morales, Henry Yen, Myra Sutanto Shen, and Rob Sherrill.
For more information, please see the companies’ joint news release.
Client Highlights
2.03.25
Wilson Sonsini Successfully Represents Impossible Foods in First-of-Its-Kind FoodTech Patent Suit
Wilson Sonsini served as lead counsel for Impossible Foods in a patent infringement litigation alleging infringement of seven Impossible Foods patents covering manufacturing processes, ingredients, and finished products relating to plant-based food containing heme and Impossible’s innovative transgenic yeast used to manufacture that heme. Our team successfully represented Impossible Foods in defense of six inter partes review petitions before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in 2022 and 2023. Wilson Sonsini defeated the defendant’s motion to dismiss and motion to stay the District Court litigation. The matter was closely watched as the first patent infringement case in the burgeoning foodtech industry. With trial approaching, the parties resolved the matter and released a joint statement that said: “This resolution affirms Impossible Foods’ category leadership and the strength of its product portfolio related to heme.”
Client Highlights
1.31.25
Wilson Sonsini Advises Bonsai Robotics on $15 Million Series A
On January 28, 2025, Bonsai Robotics, a leading developer of physical AI solutions for agriculture applications, announced the successful completion of a $15 million Series A funding round. Bison Ventures led the oversubscribed round with participation from new investor, Cibus Capital, and existing investors Acre Venture Partners, Congruent Ventures, Fall Line Capital, E14 Fund, SNR, and Serra Ventures. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Bonsai on the transaction.
Bonsai's flagship product, Visionsteer™, provides technology designed to meet grower needs, offering data insights, crop analysis, notifications, job planning, and autonomous vehicle control. The new funding will be used to enhance vision-based autonomous technology and to drive commercialization efforts.
Bonsai's flagship product, Visionsteer™, provides technology designed to meet grower needs, offering data insights, crop analysis, notifications, job planning, and autonomous vehicle control. The new funding will be used to enhance vision-based autonomous technology and to drive commercialization efforts.
Client Highlights
6.04.24
Firm Advises Meati on $100 Million Series C1 Funding
On May 8, 2024, Meati Foods, a producer of animal-free meats crafted from the company’s unique, whole-food MushroomRoot,™ announced that it has secured $100 million in Series C1 funding, bringing its total raised to $365 million since its founding seven years ago. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Meati on the transaction.
The latest round of funding—the largest investment in an alternative protein company since Meati’s own $150 million Series C fundraise in 2022—was led by Grosvenor Food & AgTech, and included returning investors Prelude Ventures, Bond, Revolution Growth, and Congruent. The injection of capital was accompanied by the appointment of Grosvenor Food & AgTech’s Katrin Burt and Prelude Ventures’ Mark Cupta to Meati’s board.
The Wilson Sonsini team advising Meati on the transaction included:
Corporate
Bob O’Connor
Mike Pestana
Viet Nguyen
Michelle Mealer
Janine Swanson
Nathaniel Siegel
The latest round of funding—the largest investment in an alternative protein company since Meati’s own $150 million Series C fundraise in 2022—was led by Grosvenor Food & AgTech, and included returning investors Prelude Ventures, Bond, Revolution Growth, and Congruent. The injection of capital was accompanied by the appointment of Grosvenor Food & AgTech’s Katrin Burt and Prelude Ventures’ Mark Cupta to Meati’s board.
The Wilson Sonsini team advising Meati on the transaction included:
Corporate
Bob O’Connor
Mike Pestana
Viet Nguyen
Michelle Mealer
Janine Swanson
Nathaniel Siegel
Client Highlights
3.21.24
Wilson Sonsini Advises Orbillion on New Funding Round
On March 14, 2024, cultivated meat start-up Orbillion said it has raised fresh capital bringing its cumulative funding to $15 million. The round follows a successful 200-liter production run which the company says validates its predictive modeling platform for "de-risking" the scale-up process for cultivated meat. The round was led by The Venture Collective and co-led by At One Ventures, with participation from YCombinator, Metaplanet, and global food investors including university endowments and strategic investors, and follows a $5 million Seed round announced in 2021.
Client Highlights
2.28.24
Wilson Sonsini Advises Oishii on $134 Million Financing
On February 28, 2024, Oishii, a vertical strawberry farming company, announced a $134 million financing led by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, with participation from Bloom8, McWin Capital Partners, Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi Shokuhin Co., Ltd., the Japan Green Investment Corporation for Carbon Neutrality (JICN), and Yaskawa Electric Corporation. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Oishii on the transaction. Proceeds from the financing will accelerate Oishii’s expansion plans and support ongoing research and development projects.
Client Highlights
1.23.24
Wilson Sonsini Advises Silo Technologies on $35 Million Investment
On December 13, 2023, Silo Technologies, a provider of modern capital and technology solutions for the food supply chain, announced the closing of a $35 million investment from Koch Disruptive Technologies. The investment follows Silo's $32 million Series C round. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Silo Technologies on the transaction.
Client Highlights
1.23.24
Wilson Sonsini Advises Syrup on $17.5 Million Series A Financing
On December 1, 2023, Syrup Tech, a start-up that provides AI-powered planning, buying, and inventory optimization for omnichannel commerce, announced its $17.5 million Series A fundraise. The funding round is led by Accel with participation from existing investors Gradient Ventures and 1984 Ventures. Increased accuracy in forecasting takes the guesswork out of merchandise planning, helping reduce overproduction. Syrup connects inventory data with a unique mix of historical, transactional, and real-time data so that planning teams can make optimal decisions for their inventories. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Syrup Tech on the transaction.
Newsletters
9.28.23
Sustainability and ESG Advisory Practice Update, September 2023
We are pleased to share the September 2023 issue of Wilson Sonsini’s Sustainability and ESG Advisory Practice Update. Each issue combines news, key legal developments, and resources related to sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters relevant to public and private companies internationally.
Alerts
9.18.23
California Prepares First-of-Its-Kind Food Additive Ban in the United States
Last week, the California legislature approved Assembly Bill 418, the California Food Safety Act (AB 418), which is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom to sign or veto by October 14, 2023.
Client Highlights
7.18.23
Wilson Sonsini Advises Silo on $32 Million Series C Financing
On July 12, 2023, Silo Technologies, the leading provider of modern technology solutions for the food supply chain, announced the closing of a $32 million Series C financing led by Koch Disruptive Technologies alongside existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Haystack Capital, Tribe Capital, Collate Capital, and Moore Capital. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Silo in the transaction.
Alerts
6.27.23
Lab to Table Dining—Coming Soon to a Kitchen Near You
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued grants of inspection to two companies, allowing them to begin producing and selling cell-cultivated chicken meat to consumers—a first in the U.S. This marks the end of a long regulatory review by both the USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the two front-runners of the new cell-cultivated meat industry. The dual agency review, which is detailed below, culminated in the USDA giving the green light for production and sale to two California-based companies—Good Meat (part of food-technology company Eat Just) and Upside Foods.