Dive Brief:
- Pairwise, a startup that became among the first to commercialize gene-edited food in the U.S., announced $40 million in investor funding on Tuesday as it embarks on a new partnership with seed giant Corteva.
- Under a five year joint venture, Corteva will leverage Pairwise's technology to accelerate its own gene-editing efforts and improve crop resiliency in the face of extreme weather events and climate change.
- In conjunction with the partnership, Pairwise's latest funding round included $25 million from Corteva Catalyst, marking the first joint venture and major equity investment in gene editing for the seed company's venture platform, which was announced earlier this year.
Dive Insight:
Pairwise's latest partnership signals a strategic shift away from food production as it repositions itself to be a technology services provider. The startup, known for producing novel crops like seedless blackberries and less bitter mustard greens, recently licensed off some of its products as it looks to work with more established seed companies.
The startup's flagship technology platform, Fulcrum, gives companies access to a suite of tools for using CRISPR gene-editing to develop new crops and bring them to market. Working with the largest seed innovators gives Pairwise an opportunity to make an impact at scale, according to Co-Founder and CEO Tom Adams.
"We decided that, really, our core competency is technology, not marketing," Adams, a former Monsanto executive, said in an interview with Agriculture Dive. "But the technology itself can be applied to a lot, and it's really solving the problems of agriculture."
The $40 million funding round will allow Pairwise to expand Fulcrum and reach more partners. Bayer inked an agreement last fall to use Pairwise technology to enhance its gene-edited, short-stature corn. The startup is looking to license its intellectual property to other companies who are similarly looking to transform agriculture through crop innovation.
In June, Solis Agrosciences acquired a broad license to use Fulcrum to develop and sell new crop traits, which would then give Pairwise royalties when those products are brought to market. While Pairwise is looking to do more deals similar to the one with Solis, the partnerships with Corteva and Bayer give the startup access to two of the world's largest seed companies.
"There's a lot of challenges in agriculture, and it's going to take a lot of technology and a lot of innovation to solve those problems," Adams said. “And I could not be more excited to be at the forefront of this with the two of the biggest companies in agriculture.”
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify the nature of Corteva’s Pairwise investment. It is Corteva Catalyst’s first joint venture and major equity investment in gene editing.
