Ohalo

Market position

Ohalo emerged from stealth as part of a cohort of gene-editing crop companies that also includes Pairwise, Yield10 Bioscience and Benson Hill, a field in which commercialization has generally been slow. The company's CEO claims Boosted Breeding is not something other groups are known to have attempted, and that breeder reactions range from strong interest to disbelief.

Conventional cross-breeding transfers a random half of each parent's genes, making desired trait combinations a matter of chance. Ohalo says its approach guarantees transfer of both complete parental genomes, making breeding outcomes predictable, shortening breeding cycles, allowing trait stacking, and producing genetically uniform true seed for vegetatively propagated crops such as potato. The company also reports higher genetic diversity and yield in Boosted plants and says its method is high-throughput enough to run many crop programs simultaneously.

Technology

Boosted Breeding relies on several novel proteins and techniques that turn off the reproductive circuits responsible for halving parental genomes, causing gametes formed through meiosis to instead be clonal and proceed through mitosis, preserving the full maternal and paternal genomes. The result is controlled polyploidy — described by the company as a 2x + 2x = 4x platform — producing offspring with the entire genome of both parents. Because each Boosted parent contributes its full genome, the seed produced is genetically identical, enabling uniform true seed in crops normally propagated vegetatively. The company uses gene editing but states the plants are not transgenic and contain no non-native DNA. Ohalo also develops discrete value-added traits, such as cold-induced sweetening resistance in potato, that can be inserted into existing varieties.

Go-to-market

Ohalo commercializes through direct breeding and seed production in potato, partnerships with agricultural companies holding germplasm, licensing in some cases, and industry collaborations such as the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium, the Allied Potato strategic partnership and joint work with UF/IFAS and the Florida strawberry industry. It has hired seed-industry executives, including a president and COO and a VP of global commercial, to build commercial reach.

Potato and other crop farmers ranging from smallholder table potato producers to large-scale processing growers, plus packer-shippers, processors and retailers in the potato supply chain, and agricultural companies with their own germplasm that can partner with or license Ohalo's technology.

Geography

Ohalo is based in California and describes working with global partners across multiple crops; its potato positioning addresses growers worldwide, and its regulatory work to date has been with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

History

Founded in 2019 within The Production Board, Ohalo spent roughly its first five years in stealth mode developing its gene-editing techniques and filing patents. Dave Friedberg, who previously founded The Climate Corporation and sold it to Monsanto for $1.1 billion, joined as full-time CEO in November 2023 and publicly announced the move in December 2023, when the company emerged from stealth following the publication of patents and positive USDA APHIS Regulatory Status Review outcomes for two gene-edited potatoes. The company subsequently announced the Boosted Breeding discovery, the FruitionOne almond variety, the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium, a collaboration with UF/IFAS and the Florida strawberry industry on a fungal disease, and a strategic partnership with Allied Potato, alongside executive hires including Justin Wolfe as president and COO and Rob Dunlop as VP, global commercial.

Risks & controversies

Ohalo's products are gene-edited and subject to regulatory review, and the CEO acknowledges that many breeders meeting with the company do not believe the results. He also notes that beyond a species-specific limit, additional polyploidy can cause yield declines. Broader commercialization in the gene-edited crop sector has been slow, with peers such as Benson Hill exploring strategic alternatives amid layoffs after previously holding a billion-dollar valuation.