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Based in Davis, California, BioConsortia is an agricultural biotechnology company that discovers and develops microbial products to improve crop yields and reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals. The organization utilizes a proprietary Advanced Microbial Selection platform to create biopesticides, biostimulants, and nitrogen-fixing microbes for fruit, vegetable, and row crop producers globally. Operating on a business-to-business partnership model under the leadership of CEO Marcus Meadows-Smith, the company licenses its technologies to major agricultural corporations, including multi-year development agreements with The Mosaic Company and Corteva Agriscience. BioConsortia has raised over $80 million in total venture funding to date, which includes a $15 million internal financing round in February 2024 to accelerate its global commercialization efforts. The enterprise was founded in 2014 by investors Khosla Ventures and Otter Capital, spinning out microbial screening technology originally developed by BioDiscovery New Zealand.
BioConsortia has raised $52.0M across 4 funding rounds.
BioConsortia has raised $52.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
BioConsortia has raised $52.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
BioConsortia's investors include Otter Capital, Khosla Ventures, Robert Hisaoka, Ken Wegner, Square 1 Bank, John Pasquesi, 1955 Capital.
BioConsortia has raised $52.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $15.0M Other Equity in April 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2024 | $15M Venture Round | Otter Capital | — | Announced |
| Mar 29, 2018 | $10M Series D | Otter Capital | Khosla Ventures | Announced |
| Nov 7, 2016 | $12M Debt Financing | Robert Hisaoka, Khosla Ventures, Otter Capital | KEN Wegner, Square 1 Bank | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2014 | $15M Series B | Khosla Ventures, John Pasquesi | 1955 Capital | Announced |
# BioConsortia: A Technology Company Pioneering Microbial Solutions for Agriculture
BioConsortia is an agricultural biotechnology company that develops microbial products designed to replace or reduce synthetic inputs in farming.[1] The company's mission centers on meeting global food demand while reducing agriculture's ecological footprint by leveraging microorganism-based solutions for nitrogen fixation, disease control, pest management, and crop yield enhancement.[1]
The company serves row crop growers and agricultural partners seeking sustainable alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. BioConsortia solves a critical agricultural problem: the environmental and economic burden of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and chemical crop protection products. Its growth momentum is evidenced by over $50 million in funding from sustainable agriculture and food investors, a pipeline of multiple commercialization-ready products, and strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Mosaic and Envu.[1][3][4]
BioConsortia was founded as BioDiscovery, initially focused on ultra-high-throughput biological and bioactivity screening.[1] The company later conceived its proprietary Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) discovery process and established BioConsortia Inc. as the parent company with headquarters in Davis, California.[1] This evolution reflects a strategic pivot from general screening toward directed microbial discovery—a more focused approach to identifying organisms with specific agricultural benefits.
The company's trajectory demonstrates deliberate technology development: it built one of the world's largest collections of pre-screened microorganisms, comprising over 60,000 microbes including 9,000 endophytes (microbes residing in plant tissues).[1] CEO Marcus Meadows-Smith has positioned the company as an R&D-focused enterprise that develops products through registration and then partners with established firms for commercialization.[5]
BioConsortia's competitive advantages rest on proprietary technology and execution depth:
BioConsortia operates at the intersection of three powerful trends: sustainable agriculture, synthetic biology, and precision fermentation. The company exemplifies how genomics and gene editing—technologies that have transformed human medicine and industrial biotech—are now reshaping crop production.
The timing is critical. Global agriculture faces mounting pressure to reduce synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use due to environmental concerns (water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions) and economic volatility in energy markets that drive fertilizer costs.[4] Simultaneously, regulatory frameworks increasingly favor biological solutions, and major agricultural input companies (like Mosaic) are actively seeking biotech partnerships to diversify their portfolios.[4]
BioConsortia's influence extends beyond its own products: by demonstrating that directed microbial selection and gene editing can produce agronomically superior organisms, the company validates an entire category of microbial solutions. Its partnerships with established players accelerate adoption and signal to the broader agtech ecosystem that microbial products are moving from niche to mainstream.
BioConsortia is positioned to become a critical technology supplier in the biologics-driven transformation of agriculture. The company's R&D-to-partnership model allows it to maintain focus on innovation while leveraging partners' commercialization capabilities—a pragmatic approach that de-risks product launch.
Key trends shaping its trajectory include regulatory approval timelines for novel microbial products, grower adoption rates for seed treatments and in-furrow applications, and the pace of synthetic biology advancement. As nitrogen fertilizer prices remain volatile and environmental regulations tighten, demand for BioConsortia's solutions should accelerate.
The company's future influence will likely expand beyond row crops into turf, ornamentals, and specialty crops—markets where Envu's partnership provides immediate leverage.[3] If BioConsortia's field trial results translate to commercial success, it could establish a new standard for how agricultural inputs are discovered and engineered, positioning microbial solutions as a foundational technology rather than a niche alternative.
