Business · Companies · 1 day ago
Amoéba seeks funding to scale up its ameba-based plant protection business
Amoéba, a company based in Chassieu near Lyon, is trying to turn a particular ameba into commercial products.
It says the organism could help protect plants from disease and also have cosmetic uses, offering alternatives to some chemical products.
The company was founded in 2010 around a different idea: using the ameba to tackle bacteria in industrial water systems.
French health and safety agency Anses rejected that biocide project, citing concern that the ameba might carry bacteria without destroying them.
Amoéba has since shifted its focus to agricultural biocontrol and cosmetic ingredients, but it has yet to establish a profitable business at industrial scale.
Its share price has fallen sharply, and it is seeking more money from investors to support development and commercial launch.
The company calls this its final appeal to the market before it hopes to become financially self-sufficient in 2029.
Amoéba, a company based in Chassieu near Lyon, is shifting from industrial water treatment to agricultural biocontrol and cosmetic ingredients.
The company aims to use material made from inactivated amoebas to offer alternatives to chemical products, after its original project using live amoebas was rejected by France’s health and safety agency, Anses.
Amoéba says it is the only company authorised to exploit the specific amoeba strain industrially for plant-protection and cosmetic applications, and the only one able to produce it at a commercially compatible scale.
The company is seeking new funding through a capital increase to support industrial expansion and the start of commercial activity.
Management describes the fundraising as its final call on investors before a hoped-for move to financial independence in 2029, while longtime shareholders have faced falling share prices, dilution and regulatory delays.
- Who
- Amoéba, a French company; its chairman, Benoît Villiers
- What
- Amoéba is seeking funding as it pivots to agricultural biocontrol and cosmetic ingredients made using inactivated amoebas.
- When
- The article was published on 10 October 2026; the company hopes to reach financial independence in 2029.
- Where
- Chassieu, in the Lyon metropolitan area, France
- Why
- To fund industrial scale-up and commercial launch after its original live-amoeba water-treatment project was rejected by Anses.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Le biocide, c’est terminé. Une amibe vivante a une durée de vie de cinq jours. Dans notre nouvelle solution, elle est inactive et le produit peut se conserver pendant deux ans
Fabrice Plasson founded Amoéba to develop a technology based on the Willaertia magna C2c Maky amoeba strain.
Amoéba went public, with its technology presented as a potential replacement for chemical biocides in industrial water treatment.
The company’s share price reached a record high of more than €38.
Anses rejected the live-amoeba biocide project, citing concern that the amoeba could carry bacteria without destroying them.
Amoéba was seeking a capital increase to fund its new strategy and hoped to become financially independent in 2029.
- Company location
- Chassieu, in the Lyon metropolitan area
- Amoeba strain
- Willaertia magna C2c Maky
- Share-price peak
- More than €38 in January 2016
- Share price in headline
- €0.30
- Financial-independence target
- 2029
- New product approach
- A lysate made from inactivated amoebas and processed into powder
Sources
Related news
Stellantis presents nine concept cars at the Paris Motor Show
France’s Bond Crisis Raises Concern for the Euro Zone Ahead of April Election
French debt and political deadlock raise fears of a wider European crisis
Citroën unveils electric 2CV concept ahead of planned production
Citroen unveils electric 2CV concept, with a showroom version planned by 2028
Macron backs European preference for cars amid competition from China
Dunkirk’s Port Center explains the work and history of its busy port
French inspectors warn of risks in microentrepreneur status
France to release 10 million oil barrels, with pump price cuts expected in November
French borrowing costs reach their highest level since 2002
BMW-Mini and Porsche among major brands absent from Paris auto show
