Huge congratulations to AgLaunch portfolio company, Upstream Biotechnology, on closing a seed round to advance their “SwitchBlade” platform, technology built on 30 years of plant immunity research out of Duke University. The round was led by LeVert Ventures, with participation from Corteva Catalyst, Silver Blue, VTC Ventures, and others.
The problem: Disease-resistance genes in crops often come with a tradeoff. If a plant is constantly producing defense proteins, it’s spending energy that could otherwise go into growth, which means real yield penalties for farmers.
Upstream’s fix: A molecular gate that keeps defense genes switched off under normal conditions and only activates them, at the site of infection or stress, when a threat is actually detected. The result is disease resistance without the constant metabolic drag on yield, across row crops and specialty crops alike, from soy and corn to tomatoes.
We’re proud to back the team at Upstream Biotechnology and excited to see where this goes. This is proof of what happens when strong founders get connected early to the right network of farmers, mentors, and community.
If you are a farmer, founder, or investor interested in partnering with AgLaunch to push the needle of agtech innovation, head over to the AgLaunch website to learn more.
Read the full article here AgFunderNewsletter
