By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
Ascribe Bio, an Ithaca, New York-based biotech company dedicated to crop protection, has closed a $12 million Series A financing round as it eyes the commercialization of its crop solution. As an oversubscribed round, the fundraising was co-led by Corteva, through its Corteva Catalyst platform, and Acre Venture Partners. The investor lineup also extended to several other high-profile impact investors, including Syngenta Group Ventures, Trailhead Capital, Silver Blue, Cultivation Capital and The Yield Lab. Several of these backers are returning investors after Ascribe Bio secured $2.5 million in a 2021 seed round, the proceeds of which were used to ramp up the trials of its natural crop protection product.
Proceeds from the latest fundraising are expected to propel the company’s innovative small-molecule technology platform and pave the way for the global roll-out of Phytalix, its biofungicide, to deliver disease control without the environmental trade-offs of traditional chemicals. Rooted in groundbreaking research from Cornell University’s Boyce Thompson Institute, Ascribe Bio’s biofungicide leverages tiny soil-microbiome molecules to provide effective, environmentally friendly disease control, enabling farmers to cultivate more resilient crops and bolster yields.
Ascribe CEO Jay Farmer stated, “We’re excited to secure these resources to fund the global launch of Ascribe’s technologies and are delighted to earn the support of renowned global agriculture leaders like Corteva and Syngenta Group Ventures. This investment accelerates our mission to bring highly effective and sustainable crop protection to farmers worldwide.”
Phytalix, which the company describes as a “biofungicide without compromise,” combines the health and planetary benefits of biological crop protection with the precise application and cost-effectiveness of conventional synthetics. Farmers face mounting pressures, with disease and damage claiming roughly 25 percent of annual harvests. Traditional chemicals are reportedly losing their effectiveness, and many biologicals are struggling to compete on cost or consistency. Ascribe Bio positions its solution as a bridge, combining the performance and ease of chemical fungicides with the safety and sustainability of biologicals to give growers dependable crop protection and a pathway to greater resilience.
Ascribe Bio’s natural crop protection solutions are designed to easily fit into modern farming routines, using small-molecule products applied as foliar sprays, seed treatments or blends with other tools. These options are non-toxic, biodegradable and bee-safe, protecting soil, farm workers and consumers while offering strong disease control and plant health at low doses for farms of all types, from major commodity operations to specialty crop growers. Investors also weighed in.
Corteva Senior Director Tom Greene commented, “Ascribe’s approach to biological solutions provides farmers with smart and sustainable choices for disease control. This investment illustrates our ongoing commitment to advancing next generation biological and nature inspired products for growers around the world.”
Acre Partner Alex Bondar said, “Ascribe’s lean team has been strategic and disciplined, advancing Phytalix from the lab to the field. They’ve demonstrated dramatic yield gains versus other biologicals. You see the progress reflected in the caliber of this syndicate.
Phytalix is poised for its first regulatory approval in Brazil later this year, followed swiftly by submissions in the U.S. and other key markets. This momentum positions the company to deliver a biologically derived, field-ready disease control solution to growers at commercial scale. By accessing the untapped potential of soil microbiomes, the company is both innovating for healthier fields and also aligning with investor priorities around sustainability and profitability in ag investing.
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