May 10, 2024 - Business

Startup raises $26.5 million for vaccine to stop cow farts and burps

Illustration of a steer in a pile of money with money in it's mouth

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

ArkeaBio, a Boston developer of a vaccine to reduce livestock methane emissions, raised $26.5 million in venture capital funding led by an investment fund founded by Bill Gates.

Why it matters: Caring about cow farts (or burps) has become a political punchline, but they're estimated to create more than 5% of global greenhouse gasses.

  • Vaccines could be a relatively low-cost, scalable solution, particularly as food demand increases.

The science: Methane is much more potent than is carbon dioxide, in terms of its trapping atmospheric heat, although it also dissipates down faster.

The deal: Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the Series A round, and was joined by Grantham Foundation, AgriZeroNZ, Rabo Ventures, Overview Capital and The51 Food & AgTech Fund.

  • BEV previously funded ArkeaBio's $12 million seed round.

The bottom line: The whole thing feels a little dystopian — giving animals injections so they cook the planet a little less before we cook some of them — but agribusiness sailed over the dystopian hurdle long ago.

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Tornado outbreak kills over 20 people as severe storms target East Coast

Severe weather and tornadoes moved through Kentucky on May 26. Photo: Ryan Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The death toll from a tornado outbreak that damaged multiple states across the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend has risen to at least 23. More severe weather was forecast Monday, this time targeting the East Coast.

The big picture: Widespread damage has been reported across the Ohio and Tennessee Valley region from storms on Sunday, particularly in Kentucky where an estimated 100,000-plus customers were still without power on Monday night.

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2 hours ago - World

U.S. "moving forward" with weapons for Taiwan, Rep. McCaul says

Rep. Michael McCaul and Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, dressed in a cowboy hat, a gift from the Republican congressman, during their meeting inside the presidential office building in Taipei on Monday. Photo: Taiwanese presidential office/President Lai Ching-te via X

A U.S. congressional delegation met with Taiwan's new president on Monday and promised weapons the self-governing island ordered in the face of threats from China were on their way.

Why it matters: The visit, led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), comes days after the Chinese military held drills around the democratically run island it claims is its territory in protest at the inauguration of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.

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8 hours ago - World

White House assessing if Israel violated "red line" with Rafah strike

Palestinians gather at the site of the Israeli strike on the tent camp in Rafah. Photo: Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration is still assessing whether an Israeli strike that killed at least 45 displaced Palestinians at a tent camp in Rafah on Sunday is a violation of President Biden's "red line," two U.S. officials told Axios.

Why it matters: Biden threatened earlier this month to suspend the delivery of some U.S.-made offensive weapons if Israel entered population centers in Rafah, the city in southern Gaza viewed as Hamas' last stronghold.