Wild Bioscience, an Oxford University spinout that develops improved crop varieties using AI and precision breeding, has raised a £45 million Series A investment.
The funding round was led by the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), founded by Larry Ellison, CTO and chairman of Oracle.
Existing investors Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Braavos Capital and the University of Oxford also participated in the round.
Wild Bio specialises in crop genetics, and has developed a unique data-driven approach to improve crop productivity, climate resilience, and agricultural sustainability.
The Wild Bio platform deciphers hundreds of millions of years of plant evolution to identify promising genetic improvements from wild species. These evolutionary innovations are then used to guide precision breeding strategies for modern elite crop varieties.
The company started life in the University of Oxford with Founders Dr Ross Hendron and Prof. Steve Kelly, who spun out the business in 2021 to translate their scientific research out of the lab and onto the farm.
Since then, the team has grown to 30 in its Oxford-based headquarters and their leading crop projects are in field trialling programs spanning four countries. With this fresh funding the Wild Bio team is getting ready to expand its R&D and commercial operations, and to turn their early field successes into market-ready seed varieties.
“Advancing agriculture has limitless potential to help people and the planet. So to achieve meaningful, scalable impact, we need the right investors who are truly aligned with that big vision,” said CEO Dr Hendron.
“I’m deeply grateful to EIT and to our current investors for sharing our excitement about what we’ve accomplished so far, and for their united support as we embark on this ambitious growth journey together.”
Prof. Kelly added: “Combining the groundbreaking research at EIT and Wild will create a powerful synergy that could reshape sustainable agriculture on a global scale.
“Together, we will accelerate our ability to bring new technologies to market and deliver innovative solutions that enhance crop resilience, boost yields, and promote environmental sustainability.”
Ellison said: “Wild Bio is using AI to better understand the lessons learned over millions of years of evolution encoded in plant genomes.
“Those insights combined with precision breeding has enabled Wild Bio to develop new varieties of crops with both higher yields and climate resilience.
“The ultimate goal is to grow these new crop varieties on a commercial scale and help provide food security around the world. EIT is committed to working with Wild Bio to reach this goal.”
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