Phytoform Invests $5.7M in Climate-Resistant Crop Technology

Addressing Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture with AI

The challenges posed by climate change are significantly impacting agricultural practices, and Phytoform, a company specializing in challenging United Kingdom growing environments, is dedicated to enhancing crop resilience.

Securing Funding for Advanced Crop Improvement

This biotechnology firm, headquartered in both London and Boston, has recently announced the successful acquisition of $5.7 million in funding. The investment round was spearheaded by Eniac Ventures and will be used to broaden the scope of its artificial intelligence-driven genome editing technology.

The Origins of Phytoform

Founded in 2017 by William Pelton and Nicolas Kral during their doctoral studies, Phytoform leverages their combined expertise. CTO Kral focused on plant development biology, while CEO Pelton is a dedicated crop scientist.

Pelton shared with TechCrunch that his inspiration stemmed from witnessing crop failures on his grandfather’s farm, directly attributable to the unpredictable weather patterns prevalent in the U.K.

Leveraging Genetic Advancements

“We are fortunate to operate in an era of significant genetic advancements,” Pelton stated. “Whole plant genome sequencing and synthesis are now attainable for a few hundred dollars.”

He and Kral recognized an opportunity to apply existing technology to address pressing agricultural issues.

Limitations of Traditional Breeding Methods

Conventional crop improvement techniques often require decades of development. Furthermore, technologies involving genetically modified organisms face inherent limitations, according to Pelton.

Phytoform’s Innovative Approach

Phytoform employs a unique strategy for developing climate-resilient crops. This involves integrating machine learning and genome editing technologies to explore the vast possibilities of DNA sequence combinations within plants.

The goal is to identify beneficial traits while simultaneously minimizing agriculture’s environmental impact. These traits are then directly incorporated into crop varieties using CRISPR genome editing, a technique known for its precision.

The Proven Success of CRISPR Technology

The effectiveness of CRISPR technology in agriculture is well-established, demonstrating its ability to enhance plant resistance to pests and climate stressors, and to ensure more consistent yields.

Urgency Driven by Global Food Security Concerns

Pelton and Kral emphasize the critical timing of their work. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that up to 14% of global food production is lost annually.

They anticipate that climate change will exacerbate these losses due to increasing occurrences of drought, heat waves, and pest infestations.

Investors Backing Phytoform’s Vision

In addition to Eniac Ventures, the funding round included participation from Wireframe Ventures, Fine Structure Ventures, and FTW Ventures.

Existing investors, such as Pale Blue Dot, Refactor Capital, and Backed VC, also contributed, alongside a group of angel investors including Jeff Dean, Ian Hogarth, and Rick Bernstein.

Eniac Ventures’ Perspective

“Eniac is strongly committed to the future of sustainable agriculture, as evidenced by our investments in companies like Vence and Iron Ox,” explained Vic Singh, General Partner at Eniac Ventures.

“Recognizing the growing climate crisis, we have been actively seeking ways to leverage computational genomics to reduce food waste and improve the quality and diversity of produce. Phytoform’s founders, Will and Nick, impressed us with their innovative approach of combining deep machine learning with plant genetics and genome editing to deliver optimized produce to consumers.”

Expanding Research and Development

The newly acquired funding will facilitate the expansion of Phytoform’s team and accelerate its efforts to introduce improved traits into tomatoes and potatoes.

This will aim to increase yields and reduce crop losses throughout the food supply chain.

Future Plans and Geographic Expansion

The co-founders anticipate a successful 2022, marked by the launch of their tomato and potato programs. They are also concurrently developing three additional programs.

Furthermore, they have broadened their geographic focus beyond the U.S. to include Australia and the U.K.

Strategic Partnerships and Business Model

Phytoform is actively forging partnerships with seed breeders and producers at the initial stages of the supply chain. They plan to extend these collaborations to encompass food producers in the future.

Initially, the company’s revenue model will be based on royalties from seed sales, but Pelton expects this to evolve as their customer base expands to include end consumers.

Company Growth and Technological Progress

Phytoform has doubled its employee base, growing from six to twelve individuals. The company has also achieved significant technological advancements, demonstrating the proof of concept for its AI process in both software and laboratory settings.

Accelerating the Pace of Crop Improvement

“While substantial work remains to finalize the tomato program, we are committed to conducting further trials,” Kral added. “Current technologies require a decade to develop new varieties, but we are demonstrating our ability to significantly reduce this timeframe.”