Biotech and Crop Protection

Learn more about the Israeli Biotech and Crop Protection space

We invite you to fill out the following questionnaire so that we can better understand your areas of interests and accordingly introduce you to relevant start-ups. As a non-profit entity, we offer an objective and comprehensive perspective and are happy to connect you to the start-up companies most relevant for you, at absolutely no charge.**

# of companies by founding year
Leading Trends: # of companies
Funding level
# of employees
Product stage
Promising Early-Stage Biotech and Crop Protection Companies, Currently Fundraising
Raising funds
Non-GMO seed treatments that induce crops to grow well in high-salinity soils or when irrigated with brackish water.
Based on proprietary know-how, SaliCrop’s formulation is applicable to a wide range of crops, with calibration required for each specific crop.

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
A proprietary product made with natural ingredients for the eradication of resistant weeds, reducing the need for toxic herbicides and higher herbicide doses. WeedOUT’s technology is based on the development of a special weed pollen, applied via artificial pollination, that leads to weed seed abortion, effectively blocking the next generation of viable weed seeds.

Founded: 2016

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
A platform delivery technology designed to increase the mobility of active agrochemical ingredients (AI) in plants to increase their activity and reduce the required dosage, resulting in higher yields and lower environmental impact. The company’s technology packages the AI inside nano-sized particles composed of inexpensive GRAS materials, which effectively penetrate the plant and transport the agrochemicals through different routes within the plant (symplast and apoplast, basipetal and acripetal flow), ultimately releasing the cargo within the plant cells.

Founded: 2016

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
Discovery and Development of Plant-based Compounds for Crop Health & Productivity. The team has developed a systematic approach for the various stages of compounds screening, chemical and biological analysis and other processes related to production methods and formulation. Finding the metabolic path in the plant is in collaboration with Weizmann Institute of Science. The company expects to introduce novel bio-pesticides that are much needed to replace the phasing out ag-chem products.

Founded: 2016

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
Produces cost-effective, natural mycorrhizal inoculants for commercial agriculture. The company's mycorrhizal fungi improve soil nutrient uptake in 90% of all plant species. It can help increase crop yields, especially under stress conditions, and enable growers to reduce the application rate of fertilizers, most notably phosphorus.

Founded: 2014

Raised, Undisclosed

Leading Growth Stage Biotech and Crop Protection Companies
Raising funds
A seed-breeding technology company, focused on creating superior food ingredients using precision breeding methods. Utilizing DNA sequencing, big data processing and proprietary algorithms, they enhance the nutritional values of grains and develop new varieties that represent the best of what nature has to offer. Their technology makes their breeding process 10-times more accurate than traditional methods, and cuts time-to-market by half.

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
The leading genomic big data company, develops advanced computational tools and cutting-edge algorithmic models to facilitate optimal trait discovery and selection for seed companies, animal breeders, and academia. NRGene’s proven, unique, and comprehensive genomic big data platform enables the detection of genetic differences among individuals that underlie many key traits for breeding such as yield improvement, ability to grow in harsh environmental conditions, and disease resistance. Replace the long and expensive processes of random field selection with big data-based projections.

Founded: 2009

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
Develops and implements root-focused plant breeding methods designed to increase crop yields and overall agronomic performance while preserving crop quality. Rootility's selection system improves plants' root traits, thereby improving their access to water and nutrients and resulting in crop tolerance to abiotic stresses such as cold, heat, drought, and soil salinity.

Founded: 2006

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
Developed RNA-guided gene-targeting solutions for efficient, gene-specific DNA genome editing in living organisms. The company is currently implementing its proprietary T∙GEE (Genome Editing Engine) platform with a focus on plants. The platform includes in vivo assembling nuclei to target the cell’s genetic material. Using nucleic acid hybridization, TargetGene’s targeting is highly specific.

Founded: 2012

Raised, Undisclosed

Raising funds
A leader in biological-based integrated pest management (IPM), offering farmer-friendly predatory insects and mites as an alternative to chemical pesticides. The company also provides bumblebees for natural pollination and sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies for medfly control.

Raised, Undisclosed

Notable Investors investing in Israeli Smart-Farming companies
Int. Investors

**Israel’s academic institutions are highly rated across the world, and many are renowned for their expertise in both biotech and agriculture. A shortage of natural resources led Israel to develop proficiency and innovation in the areas of resilient seeds, novel plants, and crop protection, which over the years has drawn the interest of many leading multinational agriculture corporations, including Monsanto, Bayer, BASF.