Biotech startup Switch Bioworks is one step closer to commercializing its nitrogen-fixing microbes in Brazil after receiving regulatory approval in the country, as the company prepares for a new funding round to support commercialization efforts.
Founded by Stanford graduate Tim Schnabel in 2022, Switch Bioworks engineered a microbial powder that colonizes itself around a plant’s root system, and then a genetic switch is activated to produce nitrogen at an optimal time, typically after six weeks.
Through this technology, Switch aims to replace 25-50% of the synthetic nitrogen market, and the company has plans to expand into other crop nutrients like phosphorous, Switch’s CFO Caitlyn Qin told AgNavigator.
‘Brazil is a global powerhouse in agricultural biologicals’
On Sept. 30, the company announced it received approval from Brazil’s National Technical Biosafety Commission, allowing the company to move forward with field trials in the country. Additionally, Switch received U.S. regulatory approval and is conducting research in Kenya.
“Brazil is a global powerhouse in agricultural biologicals, with world-class research, commercial scale and strong farmer adoption. Adding Brazil gives us a new regulatory pathway and the opportunity to demonstrate how programmable microbes perform consistently across distinct agricultural environments. Each new geography we add to our development program accelerates our learning and strengthens the infrastructure needed to deploy this technology globally,” Schnabel said in a press release.
Like many biological companies, Switch has circled Brazil as a key first market, given the strong demand for the class of crop inputs and its double-cropping system that allows for speedier trials and a quicker path to market, Qin noted.
While dependent on foreign fertilizer imports, Brazilian farmers use less nitrogen than their U.S. counterparts, meaning the microbes can have a proportionally larger impact, Qin noted. The U.S. consumed 12.224 million metric tons of nitrogen in 2024, compared to Brazil with 6.291 million metric tons, according to Statista data.
“They use much less nitrogen fertilizer than we do in U.S. So, if we’re replacing, 40 pounds of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer per acre in Brazil. That is much more impactful. It’s not 25%. It could be 40-50% [reduction],” Qin elaborated.
What’s next for the start-up
Looking ahead, Switch has line of sight on profitability and is preparing to raise a funding rounding to support commercialization efforts shortly, Qin said. “Since we’re not CapEx heavy, I don’t foresee rounds and rounds of additional capital injection afterwards,” she added.
While the biological sector has become a hotbed of interest and innovation, the market still has room to expand, and a “rising tide floats all boats,” Qin said. This also comes as geopolitics and the dependence on fossil fuels creates obstacles to produce fertilizer through traditional means.
“We think the market is huge. So, in general, if we take a step back from biologics, we actually need more fertilizer. The world needs more food, and food that is not reliant on fossil fuel prices going up and down,” Qin elaborated.
