August 24, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Think of it as 23 & Me, but for soil. That’s what Biome Makers is achieving through its patented technology integrating DNA sequencing and ecological computing technologies to better understand the soil microbiome. 

In support of this important work, Prosus Ventures has led a $15 million Series B for the company, which was joined by Seaya Ventures, Viking Global Investors, and Pymwymic. 

Founded in 2015 by innovation consultant Adrian Derrero and Dr. Alberto Acedo, a molecular biologist specializing in genetics and machine learning, Biome Makers is empowering smart agriculture through their proprietary analytical tools BeCrop® – a flagship platform for functional soil analysis and sustainable soil health recovery, and Gheom® – an independent assessment program quantifying the impact of crop inputs and farming practices to support personalized agriculture. Together, these two products have collected the largest database of soil microbiome samples – 27,000 across more than 60 different crops.

Endeavors to understand the soil microbiome are fairly new, and have broadly taken a chemistry based approach, not considering the biological layer of the soil microbiome.

According to the academic paper “Functional Soil Microbiome: Belowground Solutions to an Aboveground Problem” by Venkatachalam Lakshmanan, Gopinath Selvaraj, and Harsh P. Bais from the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware, the plant microbiome encompasses the “diverse functional gene pool, originating from viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes, associated with various habitats of a plant host. Such plant habitats range from the whole organism (individual plants) to specific organs (e.g. roots, leaves, shoots, flowers, and seeds, including zones of interaction between roots and the surrounding soil).” This symbiotic relationship can protect plants from disease, drought, and insect attacks and prevent plants from drying out during extended droughts.

Better understanding of the soil microbiome breeds better understanding of what crops need – enabling farmers to boost food production and achieve greater efficiencies in regard to crop yields. However, Biome Makers noted that until its recent microbiome breakthroughs, agronomists didn’t have access to the critical data needed to make predictive decisions based on soil functionalities. This ability will in-turn enable farmers to sustainably produce enough food to keep pace with future demand as the global population reaches 10 billion by 2050. 

“Biome Makers has created a truly innovative offering, which comes from the founders’ deep expertise and passion to work in agriculture and soil health,” said Banafsheh Fathieh, head of Americas Investments, Prosus Ventures. “Prosus Ventures invests in industries around the world where innovation can significantly address big societal needs and we believe in Biome Makers’ potential to fundamentally change how farmers interact with their soil, yielding a major societal impact with regards to the fresh food supply.”

The capital raised through this round will be used to drive the company’s next phase of growth, and to accelerate the global expansion of its BeCrop® and Gheom® products. Already the soil analysis company of choice for world growers, and with two labs in California and Spain, Biome Makers has expanded its U.S. operations into Europe and Central America, and plans for further expansion into South America, Asia, Australia, and much of Africa.

Today, more than 1,000 farmers, 80 ag input manufacturers, and 140 research institutions or laboratories in more than 35 countries benefit from Biome Makers’ tools.

One of these farmers is Roric Paulman, owner of Paulman Farms in Southwest Nebraska. “BeCrop® results have provided important data about our soil’s fertility and capacity for carbon sequestration,” said Paulman.  “As such, I am saving on fertilizers and implementing more efficient practices to increase my returns.”

This funding also follows a recent announcement in April of this year that Biome Makers and Bayer Crop Science have partnered on the first AI virtual assistant for sustainable farming – a game-changing technology that leverages data analytics to forecast the efficacy of products before they are applied, to help farmers and agronomists determine what their soil needs to promote healthy crop yields.

Varghese Thomas, the project leader at Bayer CS, said in April, “It’s a unique approach to utilize soil biology and optimize the use of crop inputs moving forward towards sustainable and economically favorable solutions to improve crop productivity.”

“We are on a mission to restore the health and fertility of soil and develop a more sustainable and respectful way to do agriculture,” said Adrian Ferrero, co-founder and CEO,  Biome Makers. “After building strong relationships with our customers and expanding the operation to Europe and Central America, we recognize the need to scale as we grow, increasing access to our unique tools for the agriculture industry. We’re excited to partner with top-tier investors who share our vision for building a sustainable farming future.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.