Cardumen Capital has invested $9.5 million in Biographica, a European AI-driven agtech startup focused on enhancing crop development through advanced genetic editing.

Information on the Target

Biographica is a European startup founded in 2022 by Cecily Price, CEO, and Dominic Hall, PhD, CTO. The company specializes in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to enhance the agricultural development of crop traits by identifying high-value targets for genetic editing. Recently, Biographica raised $9.5 million in a seed funding round, led by Faber VC, with participation from Cardumen Capital, SuperSeed, The Helm, and existing investors Chalfen Ventures and Entrepreneurs First. The funds will be utilized to expand Biographica's proprietary data collection, extend its AI platform to new crop varieties, and strengthen commercial relationships across the seed industry.

Biographica has already established partnerships with major players in the seed production sector, including a new collaboration with BASF's vegetable seeds division (Nunhems). The company claims that the bottleneck in developing new crop varieties lies not in genetic editing itself, but in identifying the genes controlling critical phenotypes such as drought tolerance, disease resistance, and nutritional improvements. By employing AI, Biographica can pinpoint the most relevant genes rapidly and suggest means to edit them effectively.

Industry Overview

The agricultural sector is undergoing significant transformation, driven by advancements in technology and a growing demand for food security and sustainability. In Europe, the integration of AI in agriculture is gaining traction, a