Heritable Agriculture, a new independent company born out of Alphabet's moonshot factory, X, has officially launched with a focus on advancing plant breeding and biotechnology, and a special focus on greenhouse crops. The company aims to address the challenges of food security by developing an AI-driven platform designed to enhance crop yields, improve nutritional value, and build resilience to environmental and pathogen stress.
Dan Voytas, Heritable co-founder and Founding Advisor
With financial backing from FTW Ventures, Mythos Ventures, and the Sunrise and Pioneer funds of SVG Ventures, Heritable Agriculture has built a platform leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), multi-omics data, predictive breeding techniques, and high-throughput gene editing to improve plant performance. The platform offers agricultural partners three primary services: gene identification, gene editing design, and plant performance prediction based on local environmental conditions.
Dr. Brad Zamft, CEO and co-founder of Heritable Agriculture, highlighted that traditional crop improvement methods have been slow and costly, which could jeopardize global food systems as the world's population continues to grow. He explained that the company's AI-driven approach could reduce the costs and time associated with crop breeding while boosting yields and resistance to diseases and climate-related stressors.
Brad Zamft, Heritable co-founder and Chief Executive Officer collecting tissue samples
The company's platform is designed to make plants programmable, allowing for specific genetic modifications that enhance desired traits such as nutrition, flavor, and color. The team behind Heritable includes plant biologists and machine learning experts, including co-founders Dr. Davide Sosso, Professor Tim Beissinger, and Dan Voytas, a recognized leader in the field of plant gene editing. These experts spent years incubating the company at X, where they developed the AI and published research on using multi-omics data to predict plant behavior in various environments.
In addition to its focus on edible crops, Heritable Agriculture is collaborating with ArborGen, a global leader in tree seedling production, to apply its technology to improve loblolly pine trees. Early research suggests that Heritable's AI-driven methods could significantly reduce the time required for tree improvement, helping to address the global demand for timber and other forestry products.
John Hartnett, Founder and CEO of SVG Ventures | THRIVE, emphasized that Heritable's technology could bring a transformative shift in productivity, resilience, and sustainability across the global agri-food system. The company's innovative approach could play a key role in overcoming the increasing challenges posed by climate change and global population growth.
Heritable's team, led by experts in AI, plant biology, and agricultural research, aims to revolutionize crop improvement by integrating cutting-edge technologies to develop more efficient, resilient, and nutritious plant varieties. As the agriculture industry faces mounting pressures to meet the demands of a changing world, Heritable Agriculture positions itself as a key player in the drive for more sustainable food production practices.
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Heritable Agriculture
Brad Zamft
press@heritable.ag
https://heritable.ag