Robigo applies bioengineering and data science to a scalable microbial platform that precisely targets plant diseases while being safe to beneficial microbes, pollinators, humans, and the environment. The company is initially focused on technologies for devastating diseases affecting high-value specialty crops with few effective commercial treatments. Laboratory plant data cited by the company show over 90% reduction of diseases in multiple crops. Robigo will use the recent financing to demonstrate product efficacy in outdoor field environments and to convince growers of reliable season-after-season performance. Beyond field validation, the company plans to expand its platform capabilities to address a broader range of crops and diseases. Robigo is based in Cambridge, Mass. Robigo develops biopesticides by taking beneficial bacteria from plants and soil, bioengineering them in the lab, and reintroducing them via crop spraying as targeted, living crop-protection agents. The company markets these as "sustainable living pesticides" that remain benign until they kill a specific pathogen. In vitro proof-of-concept experiments show over 99% killing efficacy against different strains of Xanthomonas, and Robigo intends to expand to other key pathogens. Many technical specifics are withheld because of pending patents. The platform is crop-agnostic but the company is initially focusing on specialty vegetables, where bacterial disease pressure is higher. Management plans next-stage work from lab testing to greenhouse trials and then outdoor field trials, and claims its biopesticides can be often up to 10x cheaper to produce than existing synthetic treatments.

Total raised

$8M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Feb 2023