The Venture Codex

Participated · Seed · Jul 2026

Quercus Biosolutions leverages generative AI tools adapted from drug discovery to design novel mini proteins that bind validated biological targets in weeds. Unlike traditional approaches that screen naturally occurring proteins, the company designs proteins from scratch to potentially overcome mechanisms of resistance to conventional small-molecule herbicides. It currently runs five active programs and has multiple field trials underway. The company plans to expand its herbicide pipeline and pursue regulatory work to advance at least one product toward late-stage development. Quercus is also exploring broader applications of its platform against fungi, insects and other agricultural pests. The recent $5 million seed raise will fund these development and regulatory efforts.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2026

CryoBio is an ag-biotech spin-out from Marble (founded in 2025) that engineers naturally occurring “hyperactive” antifreeze proteins into a sprayable, food-safe frost-protection product for specialty crops. Late-spring freezes cause as much as $30 billion in annual agricultural losses in North America and Europe, and current countermeasures—such as candles or helicopter down-washing—are costly and outdated. In controlled trials, CryoBio-treated plants survived up to ten times longer before freezing than untreated controls, delivering superior protection at a fraction of existing costs. The company is initially targeting apple and grape growers in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region and is expanding operations in New York to support upcoming on-farm pilots. CryoBio’s leadership includes CEO and serial entrepreneur Murli Manohar, PhD, CTO and ag-tech veteran Luis Marquez, and founding scientist Abe Pressman, PhD. The recent $1.3 million pre-seed financing gives the company its first external capital, moving it from lab validation to field trials.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2026

Barnwell Bio delivers a metagenomic biosurveillance platform that captures the entire microbial fingerprint of poultry barns, turning hundreds of thousands of data points into actionable dashboards for veterinarians and producers. By identifying pathogen spikes before clinical symptoms appear, the system lets managers shift from reactive treatment to proactive flock management. The New York–headquartered startup was founded by the team that built the U.S. COVID-19 wastewater monitoring infrastructure and is already working with partners such as Mississippi State University, West Liberty Foods, and Vital Farms. Rising USDA/FDA pressure to reduce routine antibiotics and costly outbreaks like Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza position Barnwell’s data layer as a must-have for the $315 billion global poultry market. The company plans to use newly raised funds to expand throughout the Midwest and Southeast poultry belt and to strengthen its proprietary insights engine. Significant investment will go toward hiring bioinformatics, data science, and AI/ML talent to deepen predictive capabilities. No revenue or user numbers have been disclosed.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2025

Soil Action provides a platform that combines near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with proprietary machine learning models to detect the form and availability of soil nutrients in real time. Its system reads soil as a tractor moves, processes the data on the fly, and builds layered maps of nutrient dynamics without a lab. The company plans to expand field trials with farmers across key U.S. row crop regions and pursue grower collaboration to validate agronomic impact. It intends to accelerate model development and validation while scaling field deployment and engineering teams. Soil Action also plans partnerships with OEMs, input providers, and agronomic platforms to integrate its sensing and modeling capabilities. The company is led by CEO Nate Storey and recently completed a seed financing to support these initiatives.

Led · Seed · Feb 2025

Gripp provides a mobile-first platform that enables farmers to digitize operations through a QR-based mobile system that tracks operational activities and conversations, manages equipment, and preserves critical operational knowledge. The company is led by CEO Tracey Wiedmeyer and launched out of the DIAL Ventures studio at Purdue University. Gripp has demonstrated market validation with zero churn across more than 70 agricultural operations since launching in 2023. It raised $1.5M in Pre-Seed funding to support growth. The company intends to use the funds for product development based on direct farmer feedback, sales and marketing programs, and strategic partnerships with agricultural organizations and trusted farm advisors. Gripp is based in Indianapolis, IN.