US-based microbiome company Evolve BioSystems closed a $40m series C round yesterday that featured agribusinesses Tate and Lyle and Continental Grain, pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson, dairy cooperative Arla Foods and food producer Campbell Soup.

Philanthropic organisation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-led the round with Horizons Ventures, the venture division of charity Li Ka Shing Foundation.

Venture capital firms Alta Ventures, Spruce Ventures and Bow Capital, which focuses on companies emerging from the University of California ecosystem, also took…