Indigo Agriculture

Indigo Agriculture
Private
Industry Agriculture
Founded 2016
Headquarters Charlestown, MA
Key people
 David Perry, Geoffrey von Maltzahn
Website http://indigoag.com/

Indigo Agriculture is a startup using plant microbiomes to strengthen crops against disease and drought to increase crop yield for farmers.[1] Indigo is attempting to reintroduce microbes to plants that have been lost due to modern agriculture.[2]

Indigo was inspired by research on the human microbiome - "the trillions of microbes that live on and around us, affecting everything from our mood to how likely we are to get cancer,” according to Fast Company.[3] This led to the discovery that microorganisms, or bacteria, play an important role in both human and plant health.[2]

Methodology

Indigo uses seed coatings to reintroduce plant microbes into plant ecosystems[4] in a process Fast Company compared to “probiotics for plants.”[5] Existing microbe seed treatment methods used in agriculture inject microbes in the soil near a plant’s roots, whereas Indigo focuses on microbe populations that live within plant tissue.[4] Initial field test results indicate Indigo’s seed coatings can lead to yield increases of over 10 percent compared to untreated crops.[5]

Products

In July 2016, the company announced their first product, Indigo Cotton, a seed treatment containing bacteria harvested from cotton plants that has shown to improve yields under drought conditions.[6]

History and Funding

Founded by Geoffrey von Maltzahn, PhD, and led by CEO David Perry, Indigo launched publicly in February 2016.[7] The company has raised over $156 million in venture capital funding, led by Flagship Ventures[8] and Alaska Permanent Fund.[9] Indigo’s Series C is noted to be the largest private equity financing in the agricultural technology sector.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Lynley, Matthew. "Indigo Is Mapping Plant Microbiomes To Produce Next Generation Crops". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  2. 1 2 "This Startup Wants to Use Bacteria to Revolutionize How Our Food Is Produced". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  3. ↑ "These Probiotics For Plants Could Help Feed The World". 2016-02-18. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  4. 1 2 "Startup Bets Its Magic Touch on Seeds Can Boost Crop Yields". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  5. 1 2 "These Probiotics For Plants Could Help Feed The World". Co.Exist. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  6. ↑ Brewster, Signe. "A seed grows in Boston". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  7. ↑ "One startup's plan to grow more crops: put the germs back in". The Verge. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  8. ↑ "Startup Indigo wants to use bacteria to create hardy super-crops". www.betaboston.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  9. ↑ "This Bug Startup Just Raised $100 Million To Fight Hunger". Fortune. 2016-07-21. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  10. ↑ Brokaw, Alex (2016-07-21). "New probiotic seeds grow crops that require less water to survive". The Verge. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
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