Agricultural Sciences & Technology
Premier full-service firm for agtech innovators and their investors

Cooley builds patent estate for Zymergen’s HTP genomic engineering and synthetic biology platform
Cooley builds patent estate for Zymergen’s HTP genomic engineering and synthetic biology platform
July 27, 2021
Cooley has served as primary IP counsel to Zymergen since its founding, helping the company to navigate IP diligence through various funding rounds and establish a robust IP estate. Zymergen, a synthetic biology and biofacturing company developing molecules used in industries including agriculture, chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, electronics and more, recently had a successful debut on the public markets with a NASDAQ listing in 2021.
Cooley’s IP team provides guidance on all aspects of IP matters, helping the company to protect its foundational high-throughput genomic engineering platform and various contributions to the field of synthetic biology.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

Cooley advises Pivot Bio on $100M Series C Round
Cooley advises food industry pioneer Nobell Foods on patent matters
July 27, 2021
Cooley has served as primary IP counsel to Nobell Foods since its founding, helping the company to protect its innovative contributions aimed at making the world’s food systems more humane and sustainable. Nobell Foods is utilizing the power of plants to reimagine the world’s food supply and produce delicious cheese from plant-derived dairy proteins. The company recently completed a $75 million Series B in 2021 to help bring its vision to the world.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

CBD Leader Charlotte’s Web successfully enforces trademark
CBD Leader Charlotte’s Web successfully enforces trademark
April 2, 2021
Cooley secured a successful resolution for Charlotte’s Web, a leader in the hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) industry, in a federal trademark and false advertising dispute with AAXLL Supply Co, owner of the Balance CBD brand, in the Northern District of California. Charlotte's Web filed a complaint against AAXLL on April 17, 2020 in which it alleged that AAXLL infringed Charlotte's Web's rights in its CHARLOTTE'S WEB trademark and had misrepresented that certain AAXLL products shared a terpene profile with hemp cultivars developed by Charlotte's Web. Under a stipulated judgment, AAXLL acknowledged that the CHARLOTTE'S WEB mark is a valid and protectable trademark, all rights, title and interest to which are owned by Charlotte’s Web. AAXLL further admitted to trademark infringement and also agreed to stop using the CHARLOTTE'S WEB trademark in connection with advertising and promoting CBD products.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

AppHarvest Acquires Root AI
AppHarvest Acquires Root AI
March 9, 2021
Cooley advised AppHarvest, a leading public agtech company and certified B Corp, on its acquisition of Root AI, an AI farming startup that creates intelligent robots to help manage high-tech indoor farms. In addition to advising on corporate matters, Cooley's IP team handled all patent due diligence aspects of the deal. Partner Josh Holleman led the Cooley team advising AppHarvest.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

Momofuku Goods Raises $17.5 Million in Series A Financing
Momofuku Goods Raises $17.5 Million in Series A Financing
April 13, 2023
Cooley advised Momofuku Goods, a brand of restaurant-grade pantry staples, on its $17.5 million Series A financing led by Siddhi Capital. The new funding will allow Momofuku to expand product offerings and support its growing operations, which includes scaling its team and marketing efforts.
“We spent a decade testing and developing our pantry essentials, ensuring that they were up to the standards we uphold in our restaurants,” David Chang, celebrity chef and founder of Momofuku restaurant group, said in a press statement. “With this investment, I’m looking forward to bringing even more flavor to home cooks’ kitchens.” Founded by the team behind Momofuku restaurants, Momofuku Goods offers a range of products, including chili crunch oil, air-dried noodles, soy sauce, rice vinegar and seasoned salts that are sold online and in more than 2,000 retail stores.
Winston Gu and Yvan-Claude Pierre led the Cooley team, which also included Len Jacoby, JP Oleksiuk, Jonathan Rivinus, Robert Eisenbach, Joyce Kim, Chris Chynoweth, Andrew Mettry, Bomin Kim and Noah Belsky.
Related contacts

AppHarvest to Combine With Novus Capital, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company
AppHarvest to Combine With Novus Capital, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company
October 5, 2020
Cooley advised AppHarvest, a developer and operator of large-scale, high-tech controlled environment indoor farms, on its agreement to combine with Novus Capital, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC. The transaction advances AppHarvest’s mission to redefine American agriculture and to build America’s agtech capital in the heart of Appalachia. Lawyers Derek Colla, John McKenna, David Silverman, Katie Kazem and Rishab Kumar led the Cooley team advising AppHarvest on the agreement.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

BrightFarms Closes $100 Million Series E
BrightFarms Closes $100 Million Series E
November 12, 2020
Cooley advised BrightFarms on its $100 million Series E financing. Partner Mark Medearis led the Cooley team advising BrightFarms, which is a leading next-generation indoor farming company supplying U.S. grocery retailers with packaged salad greens.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

Cooley Advises AgroSpheres on Series B Financing
Cooley Advises AgroSpheres on Series B Financing
April 24, 2023
Cooley advised AgroSpheres on its $22 million Series B financing and led intellectual property due diligence in connection with the round. Cooley counsels AgroSpheres with respect to corporate matters and is the architect behind development of the company’s ever-expanding patent portfolio.
AgroSpheres’ biomanufacturing platform enables cost-effective manufacturing and successful field application of novel biological modalities. The unprecedented field success of foliar-applied AgriCell-RNAi technologies has garnered significant industry interest.
“In this unprecedented bear market, food security, environmental footprint, and supply chain resilience are of paramount importance,” said Payam Pourtaheri, founder and CEO of AgroSpheres. “We are thankful for the support from our partners at Lewis & Clark, OAS, Bidra, and Cavallo, as we take significant strides towards our vision of a future built by nature’s technologies and bring our biobased technologies to partners globally.”
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

Vital Farms – $235.4 Million IPO
Vital Farms – $235.4 Million IPO
August 11, 2020
Cooley advised Vital Farms, a certified B Corporation and Delaware public benefit corporation that offers a range of ethically produced pasture-raised food products nationwide, on its $235.4 million initial public offering of 10,699,573 shares of common stock, which includes the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. The transaction represents Cooley’s first completed IPO for a certified B Corporation. Partners Mike Lincoln, Nicole Brookshire, Darren DeStefano and Jaime Chase led the Cooley team advising Vital Farms.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

Cooley advises food industry pioneer Nobell Foods on patent matters
Cooley advises food industry pioneer Nobell Foods on patent matters
July 27, 2021
Cooley has served as primary IP counsel to Nobell Foods since its founding, helping the company to protect its innovative contributions aimed at making the world’s food systems more humane and sustainable. Nobell Foods is utilizing the power of plants to reimagine the world’s food supply and produce delicious cheese from plant-derived dairy proteins. The company recently completed a $75 million Series B in 2021 to help bring its vision to the world.
Related contacts
Related Practices & Industries

Cooley advises Provivi on $45.5M Series C-2 Round
Why Cooley
Cooley’s lawyers have decades of experience in the agricultural biotechnology, microbial engineering, microbiome, food, animal and plant science industries
Large footprint among a diverse set of agricultural biotechnology and plant science clients that is made up of industry pioneers
Clients range from small startup companies to billion-dollar private and publicly traded corporations to investors backing game-changing technologies in the agtech sector
Robust, full-service agtech platform allows for seamless collaboration among lawyers across practice areas including intellectual property, litigation, FDA/regulatory, licensing, strategic transactions and collaboration deals and venture financing
Unparalleled access to one of the largest and most influential networks of leading venture capitalists, financial institutions and other strategic partners
Counsel to agricultural startup companies involved in some of the largest venture backed agricultural sector fundraising rounds of the past several years
Represent sustainability leaders across industries, including several of the companies ranked among the Global 100 index of the most sustainable corporations in the world
Represent 30% of the biotech companies on THRIVE’s list of the Top 50 Agtech Startups
Emerging Company Law Firm of the Year Honoree
Legalweek 2021
Recognition
- BTI Consulting: “Best of the Best” for client service and value
- Chambers: Tier 1 for Startups and Emerging Companies, Leader in Intellectual Property
- Law360: Litigation Powerhouse
- Legal 500: Tier 1 for Venture Capital and Startups
- LMG Life Sciences: Licensing and Collaboration Firm of the Year
- LMG Life Sciences: Patent Strategy and Management Firm of the Year Honoree
- Managing IP: Named Firm of the Year for “Trademark Litigation” and “IP Transactions”
- PitchBook: #1 law firm for VC-backed exits (IPO and M&A)
- World Trademark Review: Gold Tier for Trademark Law
Scientists or lawyers? We’re hard to label.
Get the brochureLife Sciences & Healthcare Innovation Hub
Comprehensive resource for key stakeholders across the global life sciences and healthcare industry