£7m backs Biographica to find drought‑tolerant, disease‑resistant crop genes with AI
This article covers Biographica, a London-based agtech startup, which has raised £7m in a growth funding round to accelerate its AI-driven crop trait discovery and support a new partnership with BASF | Nunhems. The funding aims to shorten crop development timelines and lower R&D costs, supporting breeders, seed companies and efforts to address climate-driven food security pressures.
Biographica, a London-based agtech startup, has raised £7 million in a growth funding round to speed up discovery of crop traits such as drought tolerance, disease resistance and improved nutrition. The funding will support the company’s AI-driven discovery platform and a new partnership with BASF | Nunhems, with the stated aim of shortening crop development timelines and lowering R&D costs in the face of climate-driven food security pressures.
Why it matters
Developing a new crop trait can take more than a decade and cost millions. The central bottleneck is understanding which genes control target traits, knowledge that underpins both traditional breeding and gene-editing programmes. If faster, more reliable identification of those genetic targets works at scale, breeders and seed companies can move promising traits into testing and commercial pipelines much sooner.
Biographica’s announcement is notable because it couples AI discovery with experimental validation, promising to reduce timelines and cost. That matters to growers, seed companies and policymakers focused on resilience and productivity as climate change and population growth increase pressure on food systems.
Inside the product
Biographica says its proprietary AI platform narrows down candidate genes for specific traits in weeks, rather than years. In pilot projects with seed and precision breeding companies, the platform reportedly identified proven gene targets 12 times faster than traditional methods. The company also highlights cases where the AI surfaced novel targets missed by conventional approaches.
The startup is combining its AI discovery layer with rapid experimental validation in what it describes as a lab-in-the-loop model. The company claims this creates a self-improving cycle similar to approaches now common in drug discovery, enabling iterative learning and faster confidence in candidate targets. Biographica says early pilots have progressed into commercial agreements and that some of its identified targets are already moving into testing pipelines.
The announcement also includes a formal partnership with BASF | Nunhems, one of the world’s large seed companies, signalling industry interest in integrating AI-led target discovery into existing breeding and gene-editing workflows.
Who are the investors?
The £7 million growth funding round was led by Faber VC. New participants included SuperSeed, Cardumen Capital, The Helm, EQT Foundation and Sie Ventures. Existing backers Chalfen Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Saras Capital and Ventures Together also contributed, alongside a number of strategic angel investors.
The company says the capital will be used to expand proprietary data collection, extend its AI models to more crops and traits, and deepen commercial relationships across the seed industry. The raise positions Biographica to move from pilot projects toward broader deployment with commercial partners.
In the announcement, Sofia Santos, Partner at Faber VC, said:
With climate change intensifying the pressure on agricultural systems, improving crop genetics is the most powerful lever we have to sustainably increase yields and build resilience.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Cecily Price, CEO of Biographica, said:
We’ve seen AI reshape pharma, turning trial-and-error pipelines into learnable biological systems – and it works. We’re bringing that same discipline to crops.
Price framed the company’s approach as transferring lessons from pharma into agriculture: more disciplined, data-driven cycles that reduce uncertainty and speed the path from discovery to field testing.
The bigger picture
Biographica’s raise sits at the intersection of two trends: growing use of AI in biological discovery and rising investor interest in technologies that address climate and food security. The deal also shows large seed companies are open to partnering with AI-led entrants, which could accelerate adoption if regulatory, market and farmer acceptance align.
The announcement reflects growing interest from agtech investors in AI-driven crop discovery and validation models. For the UK and Europe, deployments that shorten breeding cycles and improve resilience could help meet regional targets on sustainable agriculture and food system security while creating exportable technology and services for global seed markets.
They've invested in Biographica
Get to know these agtech investors
| Investor | Sector | Stage | Activity | Team | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Faber VC | 2 investments investments | more info | |||
 Superseed | 9 investments investments | 9 contacts contacts | |||
 Cardumen Capital | 1 investment investment | more info | |||
 The Helm | 2 investments investments | more info | |||
 EQT Ventures (EQT Foundation) | 24 investments investments | 4 contacts contacts | |||
 Sie Ventures | 1 investment investment | more info | |||
 Chalfen Ventures | 25 investments investments | 1 contact contact | |||
 Entrepreneur First (Entrepreneurs First) | 13 investments investments | 10 contacts contacts | |||
 Saras Capital | 1 investment investment | more info | |||
 Ventures Together | 5 investments investments | more info |
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