Beyond Glyphosate: Quercus Bio Targets Weeds with Designer Proteins
Herbicide resistance is driving a search for new weed‑control tools, and Quercus Biosolutions is pioneering AI‑designed mini proteins that act like chemicals while offering biological benefits. Using protein‑structure prediction technology from drug discovery, the startup creates proteins that can enter plant cells and inhibit internal targets, aiming to tackle glyphosate‑resistant weeds. Early proof‑of‑concept shows molecule‑for‑molecule activity comparable to existing herbicides, and the EPA biopesticide pathway could launch a product in under two years with less than $2 million in development costs. Co‑founder Jonathan Lightner forecasts these designer proteins could capture half of the crop‑protection market in 10‑15 years.
Persian Gulf Fertilizer Crisis: Global Food Prices Could Rise 12-18% by the End of 2026, Warns Helios AI
Helios AI warns that if the Persian Gulf conflict ends tomorrow, global food prices could climb 12‑18% above pre‑crisis levels by the end of 2026 and rise further in early 2027. The startup’s model flags three sequential shocks: soaring fuel...
South Korea Says ‘AI Is No Longer a Choice’ as Agrifoodtech Funding Jumps 171%
South Korea unveiled the Agriculture and Rural Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX) strategy, declaring AI essential for farm survival and competitiveness by 2026. The plan targets small‑ and mid‑size growers with shared machinery hubs, smart processing centers, and AI‑driven livestock grading....
How Lumi AI Helps CPGs Find ‘Multi-Million-Dollar Opportunities’ Hidden in Their Supply Chain Data
Lumi AI, founded in 2023, offers a natural‑language interface that plugs into ERP systems like SAP and Oracle, letting CPG and food‑retail teams query supply‑chain data instantly. The startup has secured $3.7 million in seed funding and counts Kroger, Growmark and...
Guest Article: Food’s Fossil Reckoning; Energy Crises Are the New Normal, and Food Is Next
The February 2026 closure of the Strait of Hormuz after an Israeli‑Iran clash halted 97% of maritime traffic, sending Brent crude toward $120 a barrel and triggering a 32% jump in urea fertilizer prices to $683 per metric ton. The...
UC Davis Launches Food & Health Angels to Back Foodtech Startups as GLP-1 ‘Tsunami’ Approaches
UC Davis has launched Food & Health Angels (FH Angels), an angel network that pools capital from industry veterans to back early‑stage foodtech startups targeting metabolic health. The network allows investors to contribute as little as $10,000 or as much as...
Private Equity in Agtech: Disciplined, Selective, and Increasingly Hard to Ignore
Private equity (PE) has traditionally been a peripheral player in agtech, deterred by long commercialization cycles and low recurring revenue. In 2024‑2025 PE activity nudged upward, yet less than 10% of the 60+ agtech M&A deals involved a financial buyer,...
Crop Diagnostix Launches RNA-Based Crop Health Early-Warning System
California startup Crop Diagnostix has launched an RNA‑sequencing based early‑warning system that reads plant gene expression to flag nutrient, water, pathogen and disease stress weeks before visual symptoms appear. Leveraging a proprietary biomarker library and AI models trained on thousands...
DJI Appeal Sets Stage for Legal Showdown over Future of US Ag Spray Drone Market
Chinese drone leader DJI has filed a Ninth Circuit appeal against the FCC's December 22 ruling that places all new foreign‑made drones and critical components on a covered list, effectively halting FCC authorization for future imports. The decision has already...
From Rocks to Row Crops, TerraClear Broadens Its Capabilities with Launch of Fully Autonomous Robot
TerraClear has launched TerraScout, a fully autonomous robot that captures high‑resolution field imagery for rock‑mapping and weed identification across broad‑acre row crops. The machine can map over 1,000 acres per day at speeds up to 15 mph, collecting more than 4 billion...
Frontier AI Heads to the Farm with Carbon Robotics’ Large Plant Model
Carbon Robotics has launched its Large Plant Model (LPM), an on‑device AI system that can instantly recognize and classify weeds and crops across diverse fields. Built on a dataset of more than 150 million plant images, LPM eliminates the need for...