Neoplants

Neoplants is a French synthetic-biology company that engineers houseplants and their associated microbiomes to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from indoor air. Its work centers on Epipremnum aureum (pothos), chosen for its hardiness, large waxy leaves, high growth rate and comparatively strong bioremediation capacity among indoor plants. The company sequenced the pothos genome and, through transgenesis, inserted additional genes creating two synthetic metabolic pathways: one converting formaldehyde into fructose used by the plant as a food source, and another converting benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) into an amino acid used as a protein building block. In parallel, it applied artificial/directed evolution to two naturally pollutant-metabolizing bacteria, producing strains specialized in formaldehyde and BTEX, which are inoculated into the plant's root system as a consumable called Power Drops. It also customized the growing substrate using biochar and designed a self-watering planter (the "Shell") with a built-in water tank and meter [3][4][7].

Two product lines are described. Neo P1, announced in October 2022, is a fully bioengineered plant system combining the company's patented bioengineered microbiome with the bioengineered plant; a first version was developed in 2023, but rigorous testing revealed significant performance variations, and USDA approval remains ongoing, so the company decided to iterate on the bioengineered plant before wider release. As of the site's status update, 200 Neo P1 prototypes were healthy, fully grown and expressing the inserted genes at a plant nursery in California in 2024, after five years of R&D. Neo Px is the commercially available system: a Marble Queen Pothos (a non-genetically-modified plant) sold with the engineered microbiome Power Drops and the Shell planter, marketed as purifying air up to 30x more effectively than a regular houseplant, with Power Drops applied monthly on a subscription refill basis [3][4].

The company was founded by Lionel Mora (CEO, previously a product marketing manager at Google for over four years, Emlyon Business School) and Patrick Torbey (CTO, PhD in genome editing from Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris), who met at the Station F startup incubator in Paris. Sources place the founding in 2018 [5][6][7], while other coverage describes it as around 2018–2019 [5]. Neoplants operated in stealth for roughly four years before emerging publicly in October 2022 [7].

Founding story

Mora, who grew up in the south of France and worked at Google as a product marketing manager, and Torbey, who grew up outside Beirut and earned a PhD in genome editing at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, met at the Station F startup incubator in Paris. Torbey raised the idea of building an organism with a defined function; the pair settled on houseplants as a simple, iconic organism present in about 80% of households, and concluded that the most valuable function to add was air cleaning. They launched Neoplants in 2018 and selected the pothos (Devil's Ivy) for its hardiness, large leaves and high growth rate, despite the near-absence of prior research on the species and its toxicity if ingested by pets [7].

Business model

Consumer-facing sales of a living air-purification system: a plant plus a designed planter, combined with recurring revenue from monthly Power Drops microbiome consumables sold on subscription. Forbes reported the company also planned to sell into the enterprise market, including real estate developers and hotel owners [4][7].

Product sales of the Neo Px plant system (plant, Shell planter, microbiome) plus recurring subscription revenue from monthly Power Drops refills. Forbes described the company as pre-revenue as of October 2022, expecting to begin taking orders in early 2023 [4][7].

Traction

Emerged from stealth in October 2022 with $20 million raised; pre-revenue at that time with orders expected in early 2023. By 2024 the company reported 200 fully grown Neo P1 prototypes expressing the target genes, after five years of R&D, and had brought the Neo Px consumer system to market with shipping, refunds and subscription policies in place [3][4][7].

Latest developments

The company paused broad release of the bioengineered Neo P1 after a 2023 first version showed significant performance variations and while USDA approval remained pending, opting to iterate on the plant. In 2024 it reported 200 healthy, fully grown Neo P1 prototypes expressing the inserted genes at its California nursery. Meanwhile it commercializes Neo Px, which pairs a non-GMO Marble Queen Pothos with engineered Power Drops and the Shell planter; buyers of Neo Px are told they retain their Neo P1 waitlist position [3][4].