AgroSpheres

AgroSpheres is an agricultural biotechnology company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, focused on developing novel encapsulation and delivery systems for crop protection products. The company's patented AgriCell and AgriShell technologies enable the production and delivery of biologically derived active ingredients, such as peptides, nucleic acids, and semiochemicals, in a stable and targeted manner.

The AgriCell technology involves a fermentation process that produces and encapsulates the desired active ingredient in a protective shell. This encapsulation shields the active components from environmental factors like heat, UV light, and degradation, ensuring enhanced stability and controlled release in the field. The AgriCell platform addresses the key challenges faced by biological crop protection products, including cost-effectiveness, performance consistency, and shelf-life.

AgroSpheres operates across three main divisions: manufacturing, biorationals, and Formulation-as-a-Service (FaaS). The manufacturing division focuses on producing encapsulated biomolecules through its scalable fermentation process. The biorational division develops and commercializes AgriCell-enabled botanical inputs for crop health, leveraging the enhanced performance and dose reduction capabilities of the technology. The FaaS division collaborates with AgBiotech companies to enable novel biological modalities and replace microplastics or solvents in existing formulations.

In October 2022, AgroSpheres raised USD 22 million in a Series B funding round led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood and Ospraie Ag Science, with participation from Bidra Innovation Ventures and Cavallo Ventures. This investment aimed to accelerate product commercialization, expand manufacturing capacity, and explore broader applications of the AgriCell platform.

In May 2024, AgroSpheres announced a multi-year collaboration with FMC Corporation, a leading global agricultural sciences company, to co-develop novel bioinsecticides based on RNA interference technology. As part of this partnership, FMC Corporation invested in AgroSpheres during the Series B funding round, bringing the total raised to USD 25 million.