CertusBio secured a $4.6 million investment to accelerate plans for growth in New Zealand and globally. The Christchurch, New Zealand-based company offers biosensor technology to food producers that improves production efficiencies and reduces the cost of treating wastewater. CertusBio CEO Matthew Jones said the investment — led by Pacific Channel, a New Zealand-based early-stage, deep-tech investor — provides the company with a significant opportunity to expand into North America.

According to CertusBio, other investors include Lincoln Agritech, the original founders of the technology; the Impact Enterprise Fund, New Zealand’s first domestically focused impact investment fund; NZ Growth Capital Partners through its Aspire NZ Seed Fund; and a group of existing investors.

“This is a very exciting time for CertusBio,” said Jones. “Our plans include appointing a U.S.-based executive to establish a presence and drive global sales of the patented technology. We’ve been working for two years to secure a partnership with U.S.-based process technology company Relco and will start a trial integration of our automated system into the Valley Queen Cheese plant, South Dakota, with support from Relco.”