Hi Fidelity Genetics (HFG) announced it has closed on an $8.5 million Series A co-led by Finistere Ventures and Fall Line Capital. Other investors participating in the round include Gro Alliance, KdT Ventures, Prairie Crest Capital, S2G, and Tom Farms.
Based in Durham, North Carolina, and co-founded by Dr. Spencer Maughan (also a co-founder of Finistere Ventures), HFG has developed a dual-platform approach, mixing artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive data science to accelerate the development of new crop varieties.
The Spoon explains that the system works both below and above ground. HFG’s RootTracker™ systems uses proprietary underground sensors to construct a 3D model of each plant and its root system throughout an entire growing season. This underground data is then integrated with above ground data regarding factors such as weather, pests, and crop history, and run through Luther™, an AI platform which then determines which plants should be cross-bred to create the desired hybrids.
“In agriculture, the most consolidated point of value and technology is genetics because the only thing a farmer actually has to buy to be in business is a seed. Unfortunately, many farmers don’t have access to high-quality genetics at reasonable cost,” said Dr. Maughan. “By using novel data sets and predictive data science to create the first end-to-end predictive breeding platform for crops, HFG is changing this paradigm and empowering farmers.”
Initially HFG is focusing on developing corn hybrids, working with farmers to create new non-GMO corn varieties that are competitive with commercial seeds currently on the market. Through its data-driven approach, HFG has succeeded in rapidly improving its proprietary corn seed at significantly lower cost than traditional methods, which have proven to be cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly.
Three years have been dedicated to testing, reports the Spoon, and the company has so far developed four strains of organic and non-organic corn seeds that thrive in differing conditions. An initial trial is expected to be conducted in North America in 2019.
“Since the early 2000s, seed corn prices have gone up 2.5 times faster than corn prices, eroding the farmer’s share of farm-gate value,” said Clay Mitchell of Fall Line Capital “The ability of HFG’s technology to rapidly create outstanding corn seed and the company’s initial focus on delivering seed into the non-GM market, which has the lowest regulatory hurdles, frames a really exciting opportunity for creating value.”
With the capital gained through this round, HFG plans to bring its data-driven AI breeding system to the global agricultural seed market valued at more than $50 billion.
Concentrating initially on broad acre crops such as corn and cotton, HFG had appointed Dr. Bill Niebur as COO and president to help lead the company’s R&D and commercialization efforts. Dr. Neibur has most recently served as CEO of Origin Agritech and had previously led Pioneer DuPont’s direction in China and as global head of R&D for Pioneer.
“I could not pass up the chance to join the dynamic HFG team and accelerate product development and commercialization. Combining the understanding of how to improve below-ground performance of plants with the predictive power of machine learning focused on heterosis within Luther™, HFG can bring novel variation and value to growers across the spectrum of agricultural environments,” said Dr. Niebur.
Under the terms of the deal, Arama Kukutai of Finistere Ventures and Clay Mitchell of Fall Line Capital will both join the HFG Board of Directors to help the company realize its strategic growth goals.
The company will be based out of a new headquarters in Durham as it plans to expand its hardware engineering, data science, and molecular teams over the course of the coming year.
-Lynda Kiernan