Building a more resilient cacao supply chain: AgroNetica set to commercialize disease-resistant traits
Can gene editing be the key to a more sustainable cacao industry?
Genomics
Beyond the hype: Agtech gets back to fundamentals
Gene editing, biologicals and AI generated excitement at World Agri-Tech in London. But the bigger message was decidedly pragmatic: the industry has plenty of innovation, now it needs the regulation, finance and distribution models to get it onto farms
‘Bring us the trait you haven’t solved’: Biographica and Hudson River issue open call to breeders
Biographica and Hudson River Biotechnology are teaming up to take difficult crop traits from genetic target discovery through genome editing to commercial-ready plants, starting with tomato. Now they are inviting breeders to bring them the trait...
Vylor puts open-innovation strategy into action with Rainbow Crops gene-editing deal
Corteva spin-off Vylor has partnered with Belgian biotech Rainbow Crops to develop climate-resilient corn using AI and multiplex gene editing, offering an early glimpse of how its new Vylor Edge investment platform plans to combine external innovation...
Corteva bets hybrid wheat breakthrough can crack decades-old commercial challenge
As Corteva prepares to spin off its advanced seed and genetics division into new company Vylor next month, it has unveiled the technology underpinning its planned 2027 hybrid wheat launch, arguing it has overcome the economic and technical barriers that...
Gene-edited soybeans thrive in UK trial as Corteva eyes home-grown protein future
Precision-bred soybeans have outperformed expectations in a landmark UK field trial, with Corteva demonstrating that gene editing can dramatically accelerate crop maturity in Britain’s climate. The results strengthen the case for commercial soybean...
Investor profile
Deep Science Ventures: The investor starting with problems, not technologies
While most deep-tech investors back university spinouts built around breakthrough discoveries, Deep Science Ventures takes a different approach. By starting with society’s biggest challenges and working backwards to find solutions, the firm believes it...
Start-up profile
From war zones to mine sites: The start-up using plants to clean toxic soils
From conflict-scarred farmland in Ukraine to contaminated mining sites around the world, soil pollution is becoming an increasingly urgent challenge. Imperial College spinout RemePhy believes genetically enhanced plants could offer a faster and cheaper...
Biologicals for animal health: BiomEdit readies dual Brazil launch for 2027 following Folium acquisition
BiomEdit is developing a new class of bio-based therapeutics to treat a variety of animal diseases with two products in the pipeline to launch in 2027 thanks to its acquisition of Folium Science
Computomics lands €6.3m as European drought exposes crop breeding’s climate challenge
German agri-bioinformatics company Computomics has raised €6.3 million in Series B funding to expand its climate-smart breeding platform, as drought-hit harvests across Europe underline the growing pressure on breeders to develop crop varieties that can...
Drought puts spotlight on climate-resilient crops, but breeders warned not to overlook IP
As Europe’s drought intensifies interest in climate-resilient crop varieties, an intellectual property specialist warns plant breeders that scientific innovation alone will not guarantee commercial success
Wild Bio takes on Big Seed with acquisition of UK wheat breeder
Wild Bioscience has acquired independent breeder F1 Seed in a move it says creates Britain’s first independent precision-breeding wheat business. The acquisition is an attempt to solve one of agricultural biotechnology’s biggest commercial challenges:...
Bayer’s €1bn wheat bet: Hybrid seeds move from research project to growth engine
Bayer has secured exclusive access to RAGT’s elite wheat genetics in Europe as it accelerates plans to launch hybrid wheat on both sides of the Atlantic by the early 2030s. The company believes hybrid wheat represents one of agriculture’s largest...
Resurrect Bio and Bejo target spinach downy mildew in latest push for durable crop immunity
Biotech start-up Resurrect Bio has signed a joint development agreement with vegetable breeding specialist Bejo to tackle one of the crop’s most damaging diseases
UK faces gene editing crossroads as EU adopts NGT rules
With Brussels moving ahead on gene editing, the UK must now decide whether to press its early regulatory advantage – or align with Europe to secure trade and market access
EU embraces ‘product-based’ gene editing rules – delivering long-sought model for Bayer, Syngenta and Corteva
The European Parliament’s adoption of new genomic techniques (NGTs) rules marks a decisive regulatory pivot towards a model long advocated by global crop giants, but NGOs warn the shift amounts to a backdoor deregulation of GMOs, setting up a new phase...
Rainbow Crops secures €9.7m to scale AI-powered gene editing for next-generation crops
Fresh funding positions Rainbow Crops to accelerate its AI-driven multiplex genome editing platform, building on early progress highlighted by AgNavigator in March and strengthening its ambition to reshape the future of crop breeding
Redefining ‘sustainable’: Are climate goals undermining animal welfare in UK livestock?
As emissions targets reshape breeding priorities, UK advisers warn that a narrow focus on efficiency risks sidelining animal health and resilience
Resurrect Bio closes $10.3M Series A as investors back AI-led crop immunity
Oversubscribed round signals growing confidence in gene-edited disease resistance as seed majors seek alternatives to chemical crop protection
Corteva shares name of seed, genetics spin-off — Vylor
Corteva shared the new name for its seed and genetic business spin-off, having already revealed the executive teams for Vylor and New Corteva in April
Tunisian researchers unlock “treasure trove” of genetic traits in heritage durum wheat
Scientists in Tunisia have sequenced the complete genomes of two iconic durum wheat varieties, Mahmoudi and Chili, opening up what researchers describe as a “treasure trove” of genetic traits that could help future‑proof global wheat production against...
Wild Bioscience targets route to market for first climate‑resilient crops after £45m Series A
Oxford spinout Wild Bioscience has raised £45m in new funding and expanded its operations as it accelerates its route to market for its first improved crop varieties, starting with precision‑bred wheat designed to withstand climate volatility
Leaps by Bayer’s Derek Norman: Why agtech needs to learn to fail faster
With capital tightening and exits slow to materialise, Leaps by Bayer’s Derek Norman argues that agtech must adopt a tougher, more disciplined mindset – testing to fail early, not to validate success – if it wants to remain investable
SOSV’s Po Bronson: “I’m betting on the chaos factor going up”
As climate stress squeezes farmer margins and fractures the global food system, SOSV’s Po Bronson believes rising pain could finally accelerate agtech adoption. But only if the sector learns to fund innovation beyond venture capital and embraces...
BetterSeeds and Caszyme target tissue culture bottleneck with viral delivery of ultra‑compact CRISPR tools
A new collaboration between BetterSeeds and Caszyme aims to bypass one of the most persistent constraints in plant gene editing: tissue culture. By combining ultra‑compact Cas12l nucleases with engineered plant viral vectors, the partners say they can...
CRISPR wheat cuts carcinogen risk without yield loss, strengthening case for precision gene editing
Ultra‑low asparagine wheat developed by Rothamsted Research shows how precision gene editing can help food producers meet tightening safety regulations, without sacrificing productivity, marking a significant step forward for safer, more compliant food...
Foray Bioscience and Z’s Nutty Ridge target a faster path to scaling hazelnut trees
A new partnership between plant biomanufacturing start-up Foray Bioscience and New York-based nut tree breeder Z’s Nutty Ridge aims to overcome one of agriculture’s hardest scaling problems: how to commercialise elite varieties of long‑lived perennial...
French orchard growers turn to biocontrol, AI and climate‑smart varieties as pesticide squeeze tightens
Producers at SIVAL 2026 showcased a wave of innovations designed to keep orchards productive and competitive in the face of a future shaped by tougher chemical restrictions, volatile climate patterns and rising pest and disease pressures
Start-up profile
Rainbow Crops: The VIB spin‑off using genome editing and AI to reinvent crop breeding
Belgium’s VIB institute, known for generating world‑class plant biotech companies, believes it has found its next success story in Rainbow Crops; a start‑up combining multiplex genome editing, AI and advanced phenotyping to deliver climate‑resilient,...
Corteva partners with Resurrect Bio to use AI, gene editing to develop disease-resistant corn
Crop protection companies like Corteva are blending gene editing and AI technologies to create corn hybrids that can respond to multiple diseases at once
Living Models emerges from stealth with $7m to build AI ‘foundation models’ for plant genomics
Paris-Berkeley-based start-up unveils BOTANIC, an open‑weight genomic transformer trained on 43 plant species, and says its approach could cut years from the seed development cycle
Gene‑edited crops draw record investor backing as Tropic lands $105m to scale climate‑resilient bananas and rice
UK agri‑biotech Tropic has closed an oversubscribed $105m Series C, the biggest raise yet for a gene‑edited tropical crops company, as investors double down on CRISPR‑enabled tools to boost yield, fight disease and strengthen climate resilience across...
Cytotrait claims breakthrough for ultra‑high trait expression as it closes £3M seed round
UK spinout says its organelle‑engineering platform could unlock traits not possible to achieve with nuclear genome editing, as investors back new crop development programmes across Europe and North America
From the Dead Sea to Brazilian corn fields: How PlantArcBio creates drought-resilient crops
Israeli biotech and gene-editing company PlantArcBio is partnering with Agroceres Group subsidiary Helix Sementes e Biotecnologia to develop drought-resilient corn for the South American market
Syngenta breaks ground with Europe’s first scalable hybrid wheat
Whole‑genome screening, precision trait mapping and hybrid‑breeding advances have enabled Syngenta to deliver Europe’s first commercially scalable hybrid wheat, marking a pivotal moment for a crop long considered too genetically complex for hybridisation
‘A map that’s green everywhere’: ISF chief pushes for global alignment on gene‑edited seeds
International Seed Federation (ISF) secretary general Michael Keller warns that a fragmented regulatory landscape risks stalling innovation, slowing climate‑resilient crop development and shutting out smaller breeders
Dyson Farming and KWS join Wild Bio in five‑year sprint to commercial precision-bred wheat breakthrough
University of Oxford spinout expects precision‑bred wheat to reach UK farms within around five years, following the launch of a new consortium with seed giant KWS and Dyson Farming, the UK’s largest commercial farming operation
Mother plants ‘pre‑programme’ their seeds: new discovery could reshape crop breeding and resilience
A breakthrough by scientists at the John Innes Centre and the Earlham Institute has revealed for the first time how “mother plants” pass environmental information directly to their developing seeds – a finding that could transform approaches to crop...
Wild Bio and The Traits Company join forces to accelerate next-gen soybean development
UK ag-biotech Wild Bioscience and US-based The Traits Company announce a strategic collaboration to fast-track differentiated soybean varieties – validating demand for Wild Bio’s AI-powered trait design platform
Biographica’s ‘pharma playbook’ for crops draws seed funding and BASF | Nunhems tie-up
From drought tolerance to disease resistance, Biographica says its AI can slash crop development timelines by five years. Investors and seed giants are buying in
Investor profile
Turning agriculture into healthcare: Why The First Thirty is betting €100m on soil-to-health links
Investor Naeem Lakhani believes fixing human health starts with fixing soils. His agtech fund, The First Thirty, is raising €100m to back companies connecting soil biology, food quality, and human health – powered by AI and collapsing genomics costs
Lighting up LatAm: Seed trait company BioLumic takes UV tech to Brazil, Chile
UV-based seed trait company BioLumic is taking advantage of Brazil’s growing seasons to speed up developing new crop traits and hybrids
Biocentis secures $19M to reinvent insect control with ‘biology-first’ approach
Imperial College London spin-out Biocentis is betting on programmable biology and AI to tackle the global threats posed by insects. It believes its genome engineering platform promises a safer, more sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides and...
Ginkgo and Bayer double down on microbial nitrogen fixation in renewed alliance
Ginkgo Bioworks and Bayer have extended their multi-year partnership to develop microbial nitrogen fixation technology that could reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers
Wild Bio raises $60m to supercharge photosynthesis with AI-powered precision breeding
UK start-up says its breakthrough platform could unlock yield gains in major crops by mimicking evolution and enhancing photosynthesis – now the challenge is scaling it for global seed partners
Genomines raises $45M to grow nickel from plants, not mines
French start-up Genomines has raised an oversubscribed $45 million Series A to scale its groundbreaking approach to metal extraction
Solving clubroot with AI? NRGene Green shares field test data on seed breeding tech
NRGene Green is using AI-based crop genomics to discover traits to address a persistent problem for Canadian canola farmers – clubroot disease
‘I was thinking this is old stuff’... Going retro could be key to the future of food, says plant scientist Mark Tester
Professor Mark Tester has spent the last decade on a quest to engineer crops to grow in the harshest of circumstances. A breakthrough has unlikely roots in decades-old science, he tells Harry Holmes
Pairwise licenses gene-editing platform to Mars to bolster cacao R&D
Cocoa market volatility is making major food producers like Mars rethink their supply chain with the help of agtech
2026 Canola season: Nutrien Ag releases 4 seed hybrids for Western Canadian farmers
Canadian canola farmers grapple with the threat of two serious diseases — blackleg and clubroot — but now have four more seed options to circumvent these challenges