Agricultural biotechnology company Robigo has raised a Series A round led by Leaps by Bayer, with participation from Illumina Ventures, SVG Thrive, Congruent Ventures and Endeavor8, as it moves to commercialise engineered microbial solutions for crop protection.
The financing will support the development and commercial launch of biological products targeting fungal diseases in soybeans and specialty crops in the United States. Robigo also plans to expand its pipeline to additional soil-borne pathogens affecting broadacre crops, addressing an estimated $10 billion market opportunity.
The company’s lead programme targets Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans, a disease that Robigo estimates causes $200 million to $500 million in annual losses for US soybean farmers. The company said its engineered microbial solution has matched the performance of commercially available chemical treatments at half the cost, with a targeted commercial launch in 2028.
A second product under development targets fusarium wilt, identified by the company as a leading disease challenge for lettuce and berry growers. In trials, the solution increased yields by three times compared with untreated controls, with a commercial launch targeted for 2029.
Robigo’s technology is based on synthetic biology, using engineered microbes designed to produce active ingredients that target pathogens. Its ARGO platform uses computationally designed active ingredients and enables the company to move from computational design and microbial engineering through lead validation and field testing in less than 20 months, compared with an industry development cycle of three to five years.
The company said its engineered microbes are designed as a one-time treatment that continuously produces and delivers the active ingredients at the plant, providing season-long protection without requiring growers to change existing application practices.
“At Robigo, we believe in building on nature’s foundation to engineer biological products that match or exceed the performance of today's chemistries. Growers shouldn't have to choose between a product that works and one that's affordable or sustainable,” said Dr. Andee Wallace, Founder & CEO, Robigo.
The Series A will also help Robigo expand beyond its initial crop protection programmes and develop solutions for additional soil-borne pathogens across broadacre agriculture.
“The scalability of the ARGO platform is what sets Robigo apart,” said Dr. Juergen Eckhardt, EVP and Head of Leaps by Bayer. “They are not just developing a single product but rather building an engine that can rapidly address diverse soil-borne pathogens across broadacre crops.”
Robigo said its approach is designed to combine the performance expectations of conventional crop protection products with the potential sustainability benefits of biological solutions, as growers face increasing pressure to manage crop diseases while controlling input costs and environmental impact.
