FA Bio
Founded 2015 · 25 employees on LinkedIn · 6 known investors
FA Bio (formerly FungiAlert) discovers unique soil microbes to develop microbial-based biocontrol and biostimulant products for growers, aiming to replace agrochemicals and reduce farming's environmental impact. The company, spun out of Imperial College London, uses its SporSenZ technology for soil microbial analysis in the agri-tech sector.
Also known as FA Bio Ltd · FungiAlert
Investors · 6
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026FA Bio, previously named FungiAlert, is a UK biotechnology company based at the Rothamsted Research Centre in Harpenden that discovers, curates and develops naturally occurring soil microbes into bioproducts intended to replace or supplement chemical agricultural inputs. Its product focus spans biocontrols (including biofungicides), biostimulants and biofertilisers targeting disease control, plant growth promotion and crop nutrition, with the stated aims of restoring soil biodiversity, reducing agriculture's environmental footprint and increasing crop productivity.
The company's core asset is its patented SporSenZ technology, a field-deployed sampling device designed to mimic the composition of root compounds so that soil microbes respond in their natural environment. Samples captured from agricultural soils feed a Microbial Library Collection, which is evaluated by a scientific team using bioinformatic algorithms through the company's Microbial Discovery Platform. The company states this approach reduces microbial product development times to approximately 18 months, compared with up to six years. The business was originally organised around two complementary elements: FA BioLab, studying soil microbial communities and building crop-targeted microbial libraries, and FA BioAg, investigating the biotechnological potential of those microbes for bioproducts.
FA Bio is led by co-founder Dr Angela de Manzanos Guinot as CEO, with Dr Kerry O'Donnelly Weaver as co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer. Its board includes Chair Toni Bucci, Steve Headington, Ángela de Manzanos Guinot, Adrian Percy, Sophie Pickering, Adelya Akhatova and Nick Atherton, while senior leadership includes CFO Mark Hollingworth, COO Leigh Credland, Director of Scientific Strategy & IP Andrea González González, Head of Product Development & Regulatory Affairs Natália Franco Taketani and Head of Manufacturing Aumaya Taleb. The company describes a team spanning more than 20 nationalities and is an industry member of the UK Agri-Tech Centre and a member of the IBMA.
Founding story
FA Bio was founded in 2015 as FungiAlert by Dr Angela De Manzanos Guinot and Dr Kerry O'Donnelly Weaver, then PhD students at Imperial College London, with the aim of developing tools for the early detection of plant pathogens in soil and water. The SporSenZ technology originated during their PhD studies at Imperial. The venture won Imperial's Venture Catalyst Challenge and the CDT Den competition in 2015 and was a finalist in WE Innovate; its pathogen-sensing technology was subsequently patented. Both founders moved to the business full time after completing their PhDs.
Business model
FA Bio discovers and develops microbial active ingredients and bioproducts — biocontrols, biostimulants and biofertilisers — for the agricultural sector, building a proprietary Microbial Library Collection from field-collected samples and evaluating candidates through its Microbial Discovery Platform. It has historically supplied SporSenZ kits to crop growers for soil microbial analysis and runs collaborative development projects with agricultural companies, including a bioinsecticide project with Bayer and a dual-action biopesticide project for wheat.
Traction
By January 2022 SporSenZ had been deployed in 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Americas, with over 2,500 kits used by crop growers, and the company had grown to a team of nine. The company has announced a bioinsecticide project with Bayer and the closing of a dual-action biopesticide project for wheat, and was selected among AgriFoodTech scaleups in the RisingFoodStars cohort.
Latest developments
In January 2024 FA Bio announced a £5.3 million round co-led by Clean Growth Fund and Pymwymic, with participation from Ship2B Ventures, earmarked for commercialisation of its technology, ongoing research and team expansion. Subsequent company announcements include the launch of a bioinsecticide project with Bayer, the close of a dual-action biopesticide project for wheat, and selection in the RisingFoodStars AgriFoodTech scaleup cohort.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
FA Bio operates in agri-biotech microbial discovery for regenerative agriculture, positioning its bioproducts as alternatives to synthetic fertilisers and fungicides. It is a spin-out of Imperial College London hosted at Rothamsted Research Centre and is backed by venture capital and private investors including Clean Growth Fund, Pymwymic, Ship2B Ventures (supported by the European Investment Fund) and Sussex Place Ventures.
The company's differentiation rests on the patented SporSenZ in-field sampling method, which harnesses soil microbes' natural response rather than laboratory-only isolation, the resulting proprietary microbial library, and a bioinformatics-driven discovery platform said to compress bioproduct development time to about 18 months.
Technology
The patented SporSenZ device is placed in the field, where it mimics the composition of root compounds to elicit and capture the response of soil microbes interacting with crop roots in their natural environment. Captured isolates build a Microbial Library Collection that is screened via a Microbial Discovery Platform using bioinformatic algorithms to identify microbial active ingredients with disease control, plant growth promotion and fertiliser activity. The company states the approach shortens development timelines to roughly 18 months versus up to six years.
Go-to-market
SporSenZ kits are distributed to growers of a wide range of food crops for soil microbial analysis, generating both data and microbial isolates from agricultural fields. The company also pursues partnership-based product development projects with agricultural industry players such as Bayer, and participates in sector networks including the UK Agri-Tech Centre, the IBMA and the EIT Food RisingFoodStars scaleup programme.
Crop growers and farmers of food crops seeking soil microbial analysis and biological alternatives to agrochemical inputs, and agricultural industry partners developing biological crop protection and nutrition products.
Geography
Headquartered at the Rothamsted Research Centre in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, with SporSenZ deployments reported across 30 countries in Europe, Africa and the Americas.
History
Founded in 2015 at Imperial College London as FungiAlert, the company relocated in 2016 to the Rothamsted Research Centre in Harpenden, where its team has been based since, following investment from Sussex Place Ventures and Imperial alumnus and entrepreneur Dr Paul Atherton. A first funding round led by Sussex Place Ventures supported extended field trials of SporSenZ. In 2021 the company raised seed investment and pivoted from pathogen detection and soil disease alerts toward the discovery of unique microbes for biocontrol and biostimulant products, rebranding from FungiAlert to FA Bio; the rebrand was reported in January 2022, when the team numbered nine. In January 2024 the company announced a £5.3 million round co-led by Clean Growth Fund and Pymwymic with participation from Ship2B Ventures.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 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.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsFA Bio announced the closing of a dual-action biopesticide project for wheat.
FA Bio announced the launch of a bioinsecticide project with Bayer.
FA Bio raised £5.3 million (close to $7 million) led by Clean Growth Fund and Pymwymic, via Pymwymic's second Healthy Food Systems Impact Fund, with participation from Ship2B Ventures. Proceeds are for commercialisation of its technology, ongoing research and team expansion.
$7M source ↗
The company announced its rebrand from FungiAlert to FA Bio, shifting focus from detecting specific soil pathogens to analysing soil microbial content and discovering microbial bioproducts.
Following investment from Sussex Place Ventures and Dr Paul Atherton, the company moved to the Rothamsted Research Centre in Harpenden and began commercialising its SporSenZ technology.
The company won Imperial College London's Venture Catalyst Challenge and the CDT Den competition, and was a finalist in WE Innovate; its pathogen-sensing technology was subsequently patented.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- FA Biofa-bio.net · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does FA Bio do?
- UK agri-biotech discovering soil microbes with its patented SporSenZ technology to develop biocontrol, biostimulant and biofertiliser products.
- Who are FA Bio's investors?
- FA Bio's investors include Clean Growth Fund, Oxford Investment Opportunity Network, Oxford Investment Opportunity Network (OION), Radicle Growth, Sussex Place Ventures.