Biographica

Biographica is a London-based agricultural biotechnology company that applies machine learning and genomics to identify and prioritise genetic targets for crop gene-editing. Its stated premise is that the ability to introduce edits has outpaced understanding of which edits to make, leaving gene identification as the principal bottleneck in developing traits such as drought tolerance, disease resistance and improved nutrition — programmes that conventionally take more than a decade.

The company's platform performs deep multi-modal in silico screening of candidate targets in specific genetic backgrounds, ranking them for efficacy and for undesired pleiotropic effects, then supports context-aware edit design, in planta validation, and re-integration of validation data into subsequent screens. Biographica describes this as a "lab-in-the-loop" model combining AI-driven discovery with rapid experimental validation, and says the platform surfaces candidate targets in weeks rather than years and can reduce development timelines by up to five years while lowering R&D costs. Reported target areas include yield improvement and disease resistance, including disease resistance in canola and oilseed rape via a collaboration with Cibus.

The team combines machine learning, computational genomics, bioinformatics and plant science backgrounds, with several staff previously at drug-discovery organisations such as BenevolentAI and Relation Therapeutics. Biographica operates from Princelet Street in London and from Innovation Labs at Rothamsted, Harpenden, where it opened its first laboratory.

Founding story

Biographica was co-founded by Cecily (Cecy) Price, who holds a degree in Biological Sciences from Oxford and an MSc in machine learning from Imperial College London specialising in graph-based biological modelling, and Dominic Hall, PhD, who holds Masters degrees in Maths and Stem Cell Biology and a PhD in Computational Genomics from Cambridge and previously applied graph ML to target discovery as a researcher at Relation Therapeutics. The company is backed by Entrepreneur First. One source states the company was founded in 2022.

Business model

Biographica works with trait developers, seed companies and precision-breeding companies, moving from pilot projects into commercial contracts tied to development milestones. It is initially focused on licensing trait discoveries to seed companies through success-based commercial models, and on co-development and licensing agreements in trait areas with clear demand and defined unit economics.

Licensing of trait discoveries to seed companies under success-based commercial models, with commercial contracts tied to development milestones; pilots have converted into such contracts with BASF | Nunhems and Cibus.

Traction

Reported pilots with two of the top five global seed companies; partnerships with BASF | Nunhems, Cibus and Viridian Seeds, with BASF | Nunhems and Cibus moving from pilots to commercial contracts tied to development milestones. Two commercial partners have progressed Biographica-identified targets for yield improvement and disease resistance into validation pipelines. The company opened its first laboratory at Rothamsted Research and was selected for the StartLife Accelerate programme.

Latest developments

In January 2026 Biographica announced a £7 million (approximately $9.4 million) seed round led by Faber VC with participation from SuperSeed, Cardumen Capital, The Helm, EQT Foundation and Sie Ventures, alongside existing investors Chalfen Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Nucleus Capital, Dhyan Ventures, Saras Capital and Ventures Together. Proceeds are earmarked for expanding proprietary data collection, extending the AI platform to additional crop traits, building experimental and laboratory capability, and deepening commercial relationships in the seed industry. The company simultaneously unveiled a partnership with BASF | Nunhems and reported opening its first laboratory at Rothamsted Research.