BioP2P Staff
Foray Bioscience said it raised $3 million in seed funding to develop new tools and technologies to ensure continued access to critical plant-sourced goods while replenishing these natural resources.
Foray’s is seeking to unlock biomanufacturing for plant-based industries for the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems. The company’s novel technology uses plant cells cultivated outside of the plant to produce a variety of goods more efficiently: from molecules, to materials, and even seeds.
ReGen Ventures led the round with additional investment from The Engine Ventures, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, Understorey Ventures, Superorganism, and others. The funds will be used to expand ReGen’s predictive plant cell culture platform, launch product development engagements with select partners, and expand its Boston-based team.
Plants play a crucial role in ecosystem stabilization, carbon storage, and climate management, but today, nearly 40 percent of assessed plant species are under threat of extinction. The world lost more than 16 million acres of forest in 2022—an area larger than West Virginia. Vital plant populations are strained by the growing pressures of human demands, climate-related stresses, and increasing prevalence of pests and diseases.
“We believe plant cell culture is a critical and underutilized tool for plant conservation, restoration, and production. With Foray’s technology, our goal is to make biomanufacturing accessible across species and applications by significantly reducing the barriers to entry,” said Ashley Beckwith, founder and CEO of Foray. “Our platform is powered by a first-of-a-kind predictive database and advanced optimization strategies that will improve success rates, shorten development timelines and make plant cell culture accessible to the 99 percent of species that remain largely unexplored in biomanufacturing today.”
Read the full release here.