How Biographica is Expanding AI Crop Design Globally

Biographica, developing cutting-edge deep learning and knowledge graph technology to identify and prioritise high-value targets for crop gene-editing, led by Cecily Price and Dominic Hall, PhD, has raised £7 million in a funding round led by Faber VC, with participation from SuperSeed, Cardumen Capital, The Helm, EQT Foundation, and Sie Ventures. The round also included existing investors Chalfen Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Nucleus Capital, Dhyan Ventures, Saras Capital, and Ventures Together.

Developing new crop traits like drought tolerance or disease resistance usually takes over a decade, largely because identifying the right genes is slow and costly. Biographica tackles this bottleneck with an AI platform that pinpoints promising genetic targets in weeks, accelerating gene editing and breeding decisions. The technology can cut development timelines by up to five years and reduce R&D costs. In pilot programs with seed and precision breeding companies, it identified validated gene targets up to 12× faster than traditional methods and surfaced novel targets that conventional techniques missed.

The company is now pairing its AI discovery engine with rapid experimental validation in a “lab-in-the-loop” model, creating a continuous feedback cycle that accelerates and de-risks trait development. “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,” said Cecily Price, CEO of Biographica.

The company also announced a new partnership with BASF | Nunhems to accelerate the development of next-generation crop varieties. The funding will expand Biographica’s data and AI platform, advance additional trait programs, and strengthen collaborations across the seed industry.