When the temperatures begin to cool, and the leaves begin to change, it seems that businesses turn it up a notch and we all become a bit more focused on the work tasks at hand. The rhythm of the seasons is a powerful gift from nature that can help us reflect, recalibrate and be encouraged. At Team Serra, we are grateful for our limited partner investors, our portfolio company teams and our many industry colleagues. We appreciate each one of you making our work more meaningful and enjoyable! See what the team at Serra and our portfolio companies have been up to this last month.

The Serra Capital Ag & Food Tech Fund II is very pleased to announce its latest investment in Wisconsin-based Fork Farms.

Fork Farms is an indoor hydroponic farming technology that provides clients with the tool to grow an abundance of sustainable, fresh food. Supported by the investment team at Titletown Tech in Green Bay and many other angel investors since its inception, the company has demonstrated significant growth and progress in almost every business dimension. Committed to expanding food access across the globe, Fork Farm's solutions have been embraced by schools, healthcare facilities, companies and nonprofits in 12 countries!

“We are excited to back Fork Farms out of Serra Capital AgTech Fund II because the company sits at the intersection of impact and scale,” said Drew Beard, Associate with Serra Ventures. “Alex Tyink and his team have resiliently navigated a turbulent market in indoor farming. Coupled with strong demand across education, healthcare, and corporate markets, and a modular technology platform that delivers both measurable ROI and a compelling social and environmental story, we believe Fork Farms is well positioned for meaningful growth and can ultimately deliver strong returns for our investors.”

Serra is very pleased to welcome Jack Marck to the Serra investment team starting October 3rd. Jack has worked closely with Serra over the past several years as the Managing Director of the Illinois Ag Tech Accelerator, a nationally ranked program run by gener8tor that supports early-stage startups in the agriculture industry.

"Serra's mentorship and support during my time at Agrible and the Illinois AgTech Accelerator has been truly formative and educational,” said Jack. “The Serra mission to deliver value to limited partners by rolling up their sleeves and working alongside the founders they invest in deeply resonates with me and I look forward to contributing to the existing portfolio as well as future investments."

"We are super excited to bring Jack onto the Serra team,” commented Dennis Beard, partner with Serra. “We have known and worked with Jack going back to his days with Agrible, a Serra Capital II portfolio company that successfully exited to Nutrien. We were delighted when he joined gener8tor in 2020 and have worked closely with him leading the Illinois AgTech Accelerator along with other roles these past five years."

Serra Ventures is proud to once again sponsor this event, a relationship that dates back to 2022. The Chicago Venture Summit: Future of Food event is the city’s premier food innovation and venture capital conference hosted by World Business Chicago. This highly curated experience brings together:

• Breakthrough food, beverage, agtech, and CPG startups

• Leading venture capital and growth equity firms

• Corporate strategics and innovation leaders Influential founders, operators, and buyers

Featured this year will be a spotlight presentation from Serra Ag & Food Tech Fund II company CEO Charles Smith of Imio. Several Serra team members will also be in attendance.

For more information about this exciting event, follow here.

For the second year in a row, Serra is opting to go completely virtual for its annual LP meeting, offering Limited Partners a chance to listen in on the funds that best apply to them. Instead of one longer meeting, we are offering five individual fund meetings, each 1.25 hours in length. Each meeting will cover information from that respective fund, a discussion of the macroeconomy and state of venture capital and will also feature a CEO presentation from that fund. See the schedule and registration links below:

Wednesday, Dec 3:

• 8:30- 9:45am CST — Serra Capital II and Serra Capital II FoF

• 10:00 - 11:15am CST — Serra Capital III

• 11:30 - 12:45pm CST — Serra Capital III SBIC

• 2:00-3:15pm CST — Serra Ag Tech Fund

• 3:30-4:45pm CST — Serra Ag & Food Tech Fund II

We look forward to seeing many of you at the meetings! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

The month of September was busy for the members of team Serra with several events attended. Tim Hoerr, Dennis Beard and Drew Beard attended Frenzy Field Day in Bement, Illinois - an event featuring field demonstrations and a number of discussions from the team at Frenzy Ag. The company is under review by the Serra Investment team and was a unique opportunity to meet with farmers, ag retailers, academics and several members of the Frenzy Ag crew. "Attending field days is one of the distinctives of the Serra team," commented Tim Hoerr, Managing Partner. "We pride ourselves on getting our hands dirty in conducting our due diligence. And this was an opportunity where we were able to do just that!"

Tim Hoerr gave another presentation as part of the Startup Launch Series within the Entrepreneur-In-Residence program at the University of Illinois Research Park. The presentation was titled “Surviving Fundraising Diligence & Closing.” This summer marked the 15th year that Serra partners have participated as Entrepreneurs-In-Residence.

Tim Hoerr attended the Innovation Strategy Day presented by gener8tor and hosted by Mars-Wrigley in their Chicago headquarters. It represented a great way to connect with other venture funds and corporates from the gener8tor Corporate Innovation Network. Presenters from several organizations including Mars, United Airlines and OSF Healthcare shared how they are encouraging and implementing innovation.

• Agtools at Aneberries: Efficiency, Data, and the Future of Berries

• Pioneer Equine Hospital Introduces Asto CT Equina® Standing CT Scanner

• Cisco Foundation Backs Fractal Agriculture's Equity Financing Model for Regenerative Ag

• Leo Cancer Care Raises $40 Million to Advance Upright Radiotherapy Innovations and Expand Global Footprint

• Paystand Named A 2025 CNBC Top Fintech Company

• One-time Administration of the SpayVac ® Vaccine Prevents Pregnancy in Red Deer in a Temperate Forest Ecosystem

• VeriSIM Life CEO Dr. Jo Varshney Wins Prestigious 2025 International Women Entrepreneur Award in Information Technology

• Völur and Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) Announce Research Partnership

• Farmwest Opens State-of-the-Art Vytelle ADVANCE™ IVF Satellite Facility