Agbiome
AcquiredResearch Triangle Park, US · Founded 2012 · Delaware LLC · 17 known investors
US agricultural biotech that discovered microbe-based crop protection products; its assets were sold to Certis Biologicals and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2024.
Also known as AgBiome · AgBiome Inc.
Founders & leadership
Agbiome was founded in 2012 by Scott Uknes and Eric Ward.
Board
Investors · 17
Also in the syndicate · 11
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$216.7M disclosed across 3 of 6 rounds · 2013–2021
▶$117.2MraisedFeb 2022 · 22 investors · AgricultureRule 506(b)
- Gerald CowardExecutive Officer
- Larry RobbinsExecutive Officer
- Marijn E. DekkersDirector
- Krysta HardenDirector
- Amir NashatDirector
- Patrick PaceDirector
- Wayne MerkelsonExecutive Officer
- David CruikshankDirector
- Michael KozielExecutive Officer, Director
- Benjamin BelldegrunDirector
- Scott UknesExecutive Officer, Director
- Paul Schulze-LefertExecutive Officer
- Alison F. LawtonDirector
- Przemek OblojDirector
- Eric WardExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $117.2M
- Amount sold
- $117.2M
- First sale
- Nov 2019
- Incorporated
- Limited Liability Company, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$65MraisedJul 2018 · 17 investors · AgricultureRule 506(b)
- Thomas DietzDirector
- Paul Schulze-LefertExecutive Officer
- Kristina BurowDirector
- Patrick PaceDirector
- Michael KozielExecutive Officer, Director
- John RyalsDirector
- Andrew GrahamExecutive Officer
- Wayne MerkelsonExecutive Officer
- Eric WardDirector
- Larry RobbinsExecutive Officer
- Scott UknesDirector
- Amir NashatDirector
- Offering amount
- $65M
- Amount sold
- $65M
- First sale
- May 2018
- Incorporated
- Limited Liability Company, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$34.5MraisedAug 2015 · 10 investors · AgricultureRule 506(b)
- Scott UknesDirector
- Larry RobbinsExecutive Officer
- Thomas DietzDirector
- John RyalsDirector
- Kristina BurowDirector
- Paul Schulze-LefertExecutive Officer
- Michael KozielExecutive Officer, Director
- Eric WardDirector
- Amir NashatDirector
- Wayne MerkelsonExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $34.5M
- Amount sold
- $34.5M
- First sale
- Aug 2015
- Incorporated
- Limited Liability Company, Delaware, 2012
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026AgBiome is a North Carolina agricultural biotechnology company that discovered and developed crop protection products derived from microbes found in plant-associated microbial communities rather than from synthetic chemistry. Its core asset was the GENESIS discovery platform (described as a gene and strain identification system), which captured and screened diverse microbial isolates for activity against insects, diseases and nematodes, tracking full genome sequences, laboratory assay results and field trial performance for each microbe. The company also pursued trait products in addition to biologicals.
AgBiome's first commercial product was Howler, a biofungicide based on Pseudomonas chlororaphis strain AFS0 that was reported to work across more than 300 crop-disease combinations, targeting soilborne and foliar diseases such as Botrytis, Phytophthora and mildews in crops including grapes, leafy and fruiting vegetables, tubers, berries and pome fruits. A second fungicide, Theia (Bacillus subtilis strain AFS032321), was slated for launch in early 2022, and a third, Esendo, had been submitted for US EPA registration as of September 2021. The company stated plans to expand beyond fungicides into insecticides and herbicides and to have launched 11 products by 2025.
Following layoffs reported in late 2023, AgBiome's assets were divided between two buyers in 2024: Certis Biologicals took the Howler and Theia biofungicides in March 2024, and Ginkgo Bioworks acquired the platform assets in April 2024, including over 115,000 fully sequenced isolated strains drawn from more than 8,000 environmental samples, over 500 million unique gene sequences, functional data and metadata, and a pipeline of roughly a dozen product candidates with greenhouse or field validation.
Founding story
AgBiome was founded in 2012 and based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Co-founder Eric Ward, later co-CEO, came from Syngenta (formerly Novartis/Zeneca) and had previously founded CropSolution Inc. and been involved with the Two Blades Foundation and a North Carolina sciences organization. Scott Uknes served as co-founder and co-CEO. Jeff Dangl is also identified as a company founder in coverage of a 2015 Science policy paper on microbiome research in agriculture. The company completed its first financing in 2013.
Business model
AgBiome operated a dual model: it discovered and developed its own proprietary biological crop protection products, sold through commercial subsidiaries, while also licensing and co-developing discoveries with large agricultural companies via partner programs, joint ventures and new company formations. Revenue sources described in the sources include product sales (Howler, later Theia) and partnership/research collaboration agreements with global ag and life-science companies.
Sales of biological crop protection products through commercial subsidiaries and distribution partners, supplemented by partner programs, joint ventures, research collaborations and new company formations with global agricultural and life-science firms.
Traction
Howler achieved 10x sales growth in 2020 and worked across more than 300 crop-disease combinations. Theia was scheduled for launch in early 2022 and Esendo was submitted for EPA registration in 2021, with a stated goal of 11 launched products by 2025. Commercial agreements existed with Farm Hannong (South Korea), TMG (Brazil), Sumitomo Corp (Mexico) and SePro Corporation, and research collaborations with BASF, Genective, Mosaic, Elanco, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and ElevateBio. At acquisition, the pipeline included about a dozen product candidates with greenhouse or field validation.
Latest developments
In October 2023 the North Carolina Department of Commerce included AgBiome in its WARN report, indicating 123 employees on permanent layoff effective December 2023. In March 2024 Certis Biologicals announced it had acquired multiple AgBiome assets including the Howler and Theia biofungicides, and on 11 April 2024 Ginkgo Bioworks announced the acquisition of AgBiome's platform assets and development pipeline, to be folded into Ginkgo Ag Biologicals Services. Trade press reported that the Ginkgo transaction countered rumors that AgBiome had closed, but that the company had issued no official statement about its future.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
AgBiome was described as one of the leading innovators in biological crop protection, operating in a market segment its investors projected would grow 14-fold by 2030. It counted major agricultural corporates among partners and investors (BASF, Bayer/Leaps by Bayer, Syngenta Ventures, Novozymes, Mosaic, Elanco) and its platform was characterized by the acquirer as a world-class microbial strain and metagenomic collection.
Investors cited AgBiome's ability to deliver biological products with efficacy and cost comparable to synthetic chemicals without the associated environmental trade-offs, and the repeatability of its discovery platform across many targets rather than a single product. The company and its investors also pointed to broad-spectrum activity (Howler across more than 300 crop-disease combinations), multiple modes of action supporting resistance management, and a reduced carbon footprint for microbial manufacturing relative to synthetic chemistry.
Technology
The proprietary GENESIS discovery platform captured and screened diverse microbes from environmental samples for agriculturally relevant activity against insects, diseases and nematodes, retaining complete genome sequences, laboratory assay results and field trial data for each strain. By 2024 the resulting library comprised over 115,000 fully sequenced, isolated strains from more than 8,000 geographically diverse environmental samples and over 500 million unique gene sequences. Product outputs included biological fungicides based on defined microbial strains (Howler: Pseudomonas chlororaphis AFS0; Theia: Bacillus subtilis AFS032321) as well as trait, bioactive ingredient and gene-editing tool programs.
Go-to-market
AgBiome sold proprietary products through its own commercial subsidiaries and business unit (AgBiome Innovations) while relying on partnerships with global agricultural companies and distributors for accelerated development, registration, commercialization and distribution in international markets.
Growers of specialty and row crops — including grapes, leafy and fruiting vegetables, tubers and root crops, berries, pome and stone fruits, citrus, cucurbits, beans and tobacco — reached both directly and through global agricultural input companies and distribution partners.
Geography
Headquartered in Research Triangle Park / Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, with commercial agreements extending to South Korea (Farm Hannong), Brazil (Tropical Melhoramento & Genética), and Mexico (a Sumitomo Corp subsidiary), plus deployment of its technology against the sweet potato weevil in sub-Saharan Africa.
History
Founded in 2012 in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, AgBiome completed its first financing in 2013 ($14.5 million Series A) and a Series B in mid-2015 that brought cumulative funding to roughly $34.5 million. It signed a trait development partnership with Syngenta in 2014 and an insect-control trait collaboration with Genective in 2015, and formed a business unit, AgBiome Innovations, to commercialize products. Its first product, the biofungicide Howler, reached the market and posted 10x sales growth in 2020. In September 2021 the company raised a $116 million Series D co-led by Blue Horizon and Novalis LifeSciences. By October 2023 the North Carolina Department of Commerce listed AgBiome in its WARN report, with 123 staff on permanent layoff effective December 2023. In March 2024 Certis Biologicals acquired multiple assets including the Howler and Theia biofungicides, and in April 2024 Ginkgo Bioworks acquired AgBiome's platform assets and development pipeline. One trade report stated AgBiome raised $230 million across four rounds since its founding and that the company had made no official statement about its future.
Risks & controversies
The company underwent a mass layoff of 123 employees effective December 2023 per a North Carolina WARN filing, and subsequently divested its commercial biofungicides to Certis Biologicals and its discovery platform and pipeline to Ginkgo Bioworks in 2024. Trade coverage noted rumors that AgBiome had closed its doors and the absence of any official company statement about its future.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 4
by search overlap
Companies competing with Agbiome for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 10
launches, deals, and filingsGinkgo Bioworks acquired AgBiome's platform assets — over 115,000 fully sequenced and isolated strains, over 500 million unique gene sequences, related functional data and metadata, and the development pipeline including about a dozen validated product candidates. Assets were integrated into Ginkgo Ag Biologicals Services. The Howler and Theia product lines were not included.
Certis Biologicals acquired multiple assets from AgBiome, including the biofungicides Howler and Theia.
In October 2023 the North Carolina Department of Commerce listed AgBiome in its WARN report, noting 123 staff on permanent layoff effective December 2023.
AgBiome expected to launch its second product, Theia Fungicide, in early 2022; a third product, Esendo Fungicide, was submitted for US EPA registration.
Oversubscribed Series D co-led by Blue Horizon and Novalis LifeSciences, to expand the product portfolio, scale scientific and commercial teams and build global partnerships. Cascadia Capital acted as placement agent.
$116M source ↗
Series B included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UTIMCO and Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund alongside existing Series A investors.
Genective collaborated with AgBiome to discover new insect control traits addressing pest resistance.
AgBiome entered an undisclosed product development partnership with Syngenta to develop high-value trait products for crops.
AgBiome completed a $14.5 million Series A round with Polaris Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Harris & Harris Group, Innotech Advisers, Monsanto Growth Ventures, Novozymes and Syngenta Ventures.
$14.5M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- AgBiome closes $116m Series D round led by Blue Horizon, Novalis LifeSciencesagfundernews.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Agbiome do?
- US agricultural biotech that discovered microbe-based crop protection products; its assets were sold to Certis Biologicals and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2024.
- Who founded Agbiome?
- Agbiome was founded by Scott Uknes, Eric Ward in 2012.
- Who are Agbiome's investors?
- Agbiome's investors include Aliment Capital, Blue Horizon Corporation, Pontifax AgTech, ARCH Venture Partners, Novalis LifeSciences, Polaris Partners.
- How much funding has Agbiome raised?
- Agbiome has disclosed $216.7M raised across 3 of its 6 known rounds.
- Where is Agbiome headquartered?
- Agbiome is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, US.