By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

Barnwell Bio, a U.S.-based cutting-edge startup in precision animal health intelligence, is channeling lessons from COVID-era wastewater monitoring into the ag sector and just hit a key milestone. Barnwell Bio has raised $6 million in seed funding to scale a bio-surveillance platform built specifically for poultry barns, as producers look to go on offense to stay ahead of disease. The company’s metagenomic system is designed to give farmers and veterinarians earlier insight into emerging health risks across the poultry supply chain, improving decision-making during critical timing windows.

Barnwell’s technology focuses on what’s happening at the microbiome level, tracking early disease signals, measuring how treatments perform and building a clearer picture of barn health over time. By turning complex biological data into practical insight, the company aims to help poultry producers protect flock health while improving consistency, confidence and profitability across their operations.

Barnwell Bio Co-Founder and CEO Michael Rhys stated, “We saw in human health that data is the missing link between guessing and knowing. In the poultry industry, veterinarians often must rely on limited diagnostics and their own intuition, lacking full visibility into the barn’s unique, complex microbial ecosystem. We are thrilled to have the backing of investors who understand that barn-level intelligence makes producers more profitable and gives them the confidence to manage flocks sustainably.”

Led by Twelve Below, the round extended to a mix of venture and agriculture-focused backers, including Max Ventures, Dorm Room Fund, Banter Capital, Planeteer Capital, AgVentures Alliance, Daybreak Ventures, Alumni Ventures and AgLaunch Farmers. The company was built by a team that helped to engineer COVID-19 wastewater monitoring infrastructure, experience now harnessed at the barn level as poultry producers contend with rising disease risk, tighter oversight and mounting biosecurity pressures.

Backer Twelve Below Partner Byron Ling commented, “Barnwell Bio is applying proven data infrastructure to a massive, underserved market. The team’s experience in scaling national bio-surveillance is unparalleled. They are building the essential data layer for the future of animal protein production.”

Proceeds from the seed round will be directed toward expanding Barnwell’s footprint across the U.S. poultry belt, starting with the Midwest and Southeast. At the same time, the company is investing heavily in its core technology, which examines the full microbial environment inside a barn.

That broader lens paves the way for Barnwell to build a unique microbiome profile for each facility, giving producers earlier and more useful insight into flock health. The funding will also help the company grow its technical team, bringing in talent across bioinformatics, data science and AI as it works to turn complex data into practical signals farmers and veterinarians can use.

The investment comes at a moment when the global poultry industry, valued at $315 billion, is navigating mounting pressure on multiple fronts. Producers are operating under tighter regulatory oversight that limits routine antibiotic use, while disease risk continues to rise, with highly pathogenic avian influenza remaining a costly and persistent threat. The ongoing bird flu crisis has already imposed significant economic damage in the U.S., sharpening the need for tools that help producers detect problems earlier, strengthen biosecurity and protect margins in an increasingly constrained operating environment.

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