The BioGenerator, the non-profit venture development organization of BioSTL, facilitates the formation of successful, sustainable bioscience companies in the St. Louis region. It provides start-up bioscience companies with pre-seed and seed investment funds, shared lab space with specialized equipment, and in-depth management support.

BioGenerator

The Yield Lab invests in AgriFood Tech companies with technologies focused on crops, animal health, digital agriculture, logistics, and food ingredients. Initial investments range from $100,000 – $1.5M.

The Yield Lab

Lewis & Clark AgriFood is a group of experienced investors, scientists, operators, and owners who are passionate about investing in companies that are at the forefront of food and agriculture innovation. They look for companies that deliver benefits to the stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector, from the producer, through the supply chain, all the way to the consumer. The firm invests in companies that are at the growth stage of their evolution, poised to scale their technology to a national or global scale.

Lewis & Clark AgriFood

Founded in 2000 as a private health insurance intermediary, iSelect's momentum over recent years has resulted in the addition of both life and motor insurance categories to its growing portfolio.  At iSelect  get that most people find insurance, utilities and personal finance boring. But iSelect understand that it’s really important to always get these things right.  As Australia’s life admin store, we’ll help you take care of the boring but important stuff. iSelect are proud of the service we provide to millions of Australians who seek our expert advice each year on some of life’s most important purchase decisions.  iSelect is much more than just another online comparison website. Comparing online is just the first step in our personalised comparison and expert advisory service. That’s why most of our customers choose to speak over the phone with one of our 500 highly-trained expert advisers at iSelect HQ.  Our dedicated departments cover all of life’s essentials, from choosing the right health or life insurance policy through to refinancing your home loan. iSelect can sort out your energy and broadband connections, and even take care of your car insurance.  iSelect compare and sell some of Australia’s biggest brands and are always adding more. With plenty of partners and thousands of policies, plans and products, we’ll give you the confidence to make the right call on some of the things that matter most. So you can spend time doing, well… anything else.  iSelect are proud to be 100% independently-owned, and unlike other comparison services, we are not owned by an insurance company and we do not own any of the companies or brands whose products we sell.  As well as our flagship iSelect brand, the iSelect Group also owns personal finance comparison website InfoChoice and energy comparison website Energy Watch.

iSelect

Missouri Technology Corporation is an American venture capital firm that promotes entrepreneurship and the growth of high-tech companies. Promoting entrepreneurship and fostering the growth of emerging, high-tech companies in Missouri

Missouri Technology Corporation

Centennial Investors was created to meet the early capital needs of university and private sector entrepreneurs. The organization will assist with bringing to market exciting ideas generated in university labs and private businesses.  Often referred to as “Angel Investing,” this private capital is an important requirement for creating new products, services and jobs in our community.

Centennial Investors

Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund is an outgrowth of Revolution’s Rise of the Rest platform, a national initiative launched in 2014 to spotlight emerging startup hubs. Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund invests in seed- and early-stage companies located outside of New York City, Silicon Valley, and Boston. By partnering with regional ecosystem leaders and co-investors, Rise of the Rest is helping to build and scale the next wave of transformational companies. The Rise of the Rest Seed Funds are backed by a group of iconic entrepreneurs and business leaders committed to the vision that the next great startups will be located outside of the coastal tech hubs.

Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund

Fulcrum Global Capital invests in companies disrupting agriculture and animal health.

Fulcrum Global Capital

CIG Spectrum is a family office holding company with private investments in numerous operating companies, credit and real estate.

CIG Spectrum Capital

QRM Capital is an investment firm. QRM develops industry-leading risk management principles, practices, and models, and provides clients with the advice, knowledge, and tools necessary to adopt those innovations. Since 1987, QRM has partnered with clients to enhance their ability to measure risk, identify profitable opportunities, and make sound financial decisions.

QRM Capital

Plastomics

Plastomics is a biotechnology startup that focuses in developing the next generation of crops by using chloroplast genetic engineering. Its technology platform is applicable to different crops and traits. Plastomics provides solutions for the many current industry challenges. The company was founded in 2016 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

<div>Plastomics is an agricultural biotech company that uses trait delivery technology in chloroplast genetic engineering with RNAi traits to develop high-yielding, insects, weeds, and disease-resistant crops. This is achieved by the modification of photosynthetic pathways to increase crop yield and metabolic engineering to improve crop nutrition, using trait delivery in the chloroplast.&nbsp;</div>

Enhancing seed and crop traits via biotechnology

Crop Biotech

Plastomics Inc. Names New CEO as Novel Trait Delivery Platform Progresses

<div>
 
 Plastomics is an agricultural biotech company that uses trait delivery technology in chloroplast genetic engineering with RNAi traits to develop high-yielding, insects, weeds, and disease-resistant crops. This is achieved by the modification of photosynthetic pathways to increase crop yield and metabolic engineering to improve crop nutrition, using trait delivery in the chloroplast.&nbsp;
 
 
 As of 2020, the crop varieties Plastomics developed are sorghum, sunflower, corn, and rice. Using Plastomics&rsquo; chloroplast-engineered traits saves time and money in product development and seed production with simplified breeding and trait introgression. It also introduces more powerful traits for easier trait stacking and no trait contamination. Trait stacking helps to address challenges faced by crops such as insect and weed resistance and the need for increased yields.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 Plastomics received an undisclosed amount of funding from TechAccel in February 2018 to support the development of Plastomics&rsquo; technology chloroplast-expressed insect control trait.
 
 
 Plastomics partnered with Evogene&rsquo;s AG-Seed division and Amfora in March 2021 to develop and introduce insect control and improved nutritional traits to the chloroplasts of soybean crops with ​​Evogene's insect control genes and Amfora&rsquo;s gene editing constructs.
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 PLANTeDIT is a biotech company that develops agricultural solutions by using advanced genome editing tools, specifically CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), to create sustainable food products. One of PLANTeDIT's key projects is the development of non-transgenic high-oleic soybeans, which are created by mutating the FAD2 gene in soybeans, resulting in increased oleic oil content.&nbsp;
 
 
 High oleic oils are valued in the food industry for their stability and shelf life, making them a suitable replacement for hydrogenated oils that contain trans fats. PLANTeDIT's high oleic soybean oil has potential applications in various food products, including packaged baked goods, cereal coatings, crackers, dried fruits, and non-dairy creamers.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In October 2017, PLANTeDIT partnered with biotech company ToolGen, Inc., to receive access to ToolGen's CRISPR platform and licenses for other gene-editing tools for the company's R&amp;D in crop improvement areas such as resilience to harsh climates, increased nutrition, and higher yield.
 
</div>

PLANTeDIT

<div>
 
 Amfora is an agricultural biotech company that uses CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to make plant-based alternatives for animal protein and increase the protein content of staple food crops. The company also uses DNA markers, phenotyping tools such as single-seed near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), and AI tools for advanced crop breeding methodologies to enhance crop genes affecting the protein, oil, and yield content in feed crops.
 
 
 Amfora is developing a family of feed and food crops, the latter of which includes soybeans wheat, and rice, and provides the suppliers of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives with their primary ingredients. The company is also involved in aquaculture feed with the development of a low-cost plant-based protein for farmed seafood.
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s patented CRISPR technology leverages gene editing to control the balance between protein and carbohydrates, thereby increasing protein in all crops. The CRISPR technology also lowers the glycemic index and starch, optimizes the amino acid profile, and enhances micronutrients in its food crops.
 
 
 In May 2024, Amfora announced it received approval from the US Department of Agriculture&rsquo;s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for its soybean, with expected commercialization by 2027.
 
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 Amfora partnered with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in April 2017 and Corteva Agriscience in April 2019 to receive licenses from the two partners to develop oil and protein content in food crops.
 
 
 In March 2021, it partnered with Plastomics to use its trait delivery technology to introduce Amfora&rsquo;s gene-editing constructs into soybean germplasm. The company partnered with McClintock in July 2023 to combine its phenotyping tools with McClintock&rsquo;s AI and machine learning breeding solutions to accelerate efforts of increasing soybean productivity.
 
</div>

Amfora

<div>
 
 BioHeuris is an Argentine biotech company that combines synthetic biology with CRISPR gene editing to develop hybrid herbicide-resistant crops to reduce the use of herbicides increasing sustainability and reducing development costs and time to market.&nbsp;
 
 
 BioHeuris has two technology platforms&mdash;Heurik and Swap. Heurik is a high-throughput platform that uses directed evolution and designs of herbicide targets to identify mutations that allow herbicide resistance. Heurik can select gene variants and compare their microorganisms' efficiency and anticipate their effect on crops. Swap is a non-genetically modified organism (non-GMO) platform that combines tissue culture with gene editing techniques to precisely introduce changes and confer herbicide resistance in crops.&nbsp;
 
 
 BioHeuris&rsquo; variety of crop developments with partners include soybean, sorghum, rice, cotton, alfalfa, peanut, maize, and sunflower. The company is developing high-yielding resilient crop varieties for soybean, cotton, and alfalfa. For the rest of the crops, BioHeuris is focusing on developing herbicide and climate-resistant hybrid varieties.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 BioHeuris partnered with Benson Hill in May 2018 and Gensus in May 2021 to apply the company&rsquo;s gene editing technology in developing herbicide-tolerant crops for soybeans, sorghum, and wheat for the former and cotton for the latter. It also partnered with Grupo Don Mario (GDM) in June 2021 for the development of high-yielding soybean varieties using gene editing.&nbsp;
 
 
 In February 2022, BioHeuris partnered with AgIdea to develop a single platform, the Agile Breeding platform, providing genome editing, breeding services, and double haploid tools to seed companies. 
 
</div>

BioHeuris

<div>
 
 UK-based Tropic Biosciences (Tropic) develops genetic innovation for tropical crops to increase crop yield and sustainability. Tropic uses pioneering technologies, including CRISPR gene editing, to increase crop disease and climate resistance, reduce supply chain waste, and reduce dependence on pesticides.&nbsp;
 
 
 Tropic&rsquo;s in-house gene editing platform, Gene Editing-induced Gene Silencing (GEiGS), combines gene editing precision with gene silencing (RNAi) and innovates vast gene editing possibilities in crops to improve their natural traits.
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s tropical crops offered are varieties of bananas, rice, and coffee. The bananas are developed with gene editing to be resistant to the Panama and Black Sigatoka diseases, have an extended shelf life, and reduce food waste and CO2 emissions by over 25%. Using gene silencing, Tropic makes its coffee low in caffeine and increases solubility with gene editing. The company uses gene editing for rice to make them high-yielding and disease-resistant.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 To use its GEiGS platform for developing crop traits, crop varieties and improving livestock protein feed, Tropic Biosciences partnered with Baden Aniline and Soda Factory (BASF) in July 2020, Genus in October 2020, British Sugar in March 2023, and Corteva Agriscience in October 2023.
 
 
 Tropic Biosciences received a license of access for Pairwise&rsquo;s base editing technologies in February 2022 to accelerate breeding innovation in coffee and banana crops for the former.
 
</div>

Tropic Biosciences

<div>
 
 Meiogenix is a French agriculture biotech company that partakes in chromosome editing to develop new crops. The varieties of crops, using meiotic recombination, expand the biodiversity available to farmers, which is claimed to overcome climate change and food insecurity challenges. The company&rsquo;s SpiX technology targets homologous recombination in plant genomes, which allows the re-assembly of crop traits during the breeding process. The recombination process is claimed to reduce lengthy breeding cycles from 6&ndash;13 years to 3&ndash;7 years and allows the development of entirely new complex traits.
 
 
 In 2021, Meiogenix was developing three applications: the transfer of gene edits or transgenes into a large number of commercial germplasm; the isolation of useful crop traits from low agronomic performance of wild varieties; and the generation of complex crop traits, such as flavor, drought tolerance, nitrogen, or water use. As of 2021, the company&rsquo;s product focus was on corn, tomato, rice, and soybean, with further plans to develop crop varieties in other fruits and vegetables.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;
 
 
 The company partnered with the French Centre de coop&eacute;ration Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le D&eacute;veloppement (CIRAD) in February 2011 to research the impact of Meiogenix&rsquo;s SpiX technology on rice genomes.
 
 
 It partnered with Bayer in April 2016, providing Meiogenix&rsquo;s SpiX license for use in crop development. In February 2020, Meiogenix partnered with Bayer again to collaboratively improve its recombination technology.
 
 
 Meiogenix also partnered with Lesaffre in June 2016 to use the former&rsquo;s recombination technology to develop improved industrial yeast strains for Lesaffre&rsquo;s yeast manufacturing. 
 
</div>

Meiogenix

Companies that develop or use biological, physical and chemical agents and techniques to provide protection and improve the quality of a seed. This includes the sale of seed coating, or seed enhancement products as methods to treat seeds.

Companies that redesign large clusters of genes and gene parts rather than modifying or engineering a single gene for improving the traits of a plant.

Companies that utilize genetic engineering tools and technologies to use existing and naturally present gene variants in a plant and the natural process of breeding such as inbreeding, and linebreeding to develop better traits for plants.

Companies that use transgenesis processes like tissue culturing to develop transgenic plants or seeds by inserting new genes into them from other plants or in certain instances other organisms like bacteria or even animals.

Companies that offer techniques such as epigenetics, RNA interference (RNAi) to temporarily block a specific gene that would trigger unwanted effect such as a disease on a plant.

Companies that develop a platform to insert, edit, or delete the DNA of a plant itself using approaches such as CRISPR-Cas 9, TALENs, and Zinc Fingers. These approaches help develop plant genes or seeds with traits such as disease-resistant, enhanced-performance, or improve yield.

Offers customization of genes and traits as required by farmers

Biotech solutions to produce crops that are sustainable and offer better traits

Uses AI/machine learning to facilitate their platform/biotech processes like gene editing

Plastomics

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