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BioLumic Oversubscribed Funding Round Accelerates a New Category of Non-GMO Seed Traits

News provided by news direct2025-04-22

--News Direct--

BioLumic Inc., a pioneer in seed trait innovation, today announced the close of its oversubscribed Series B Extension, securing $8.3 million USD from new and existing investors, including Ki Tua Fund, Azolla Ventures, and iSelect Fund. The new capital will accelerate the commercial growth of a breakthrough category of seed traits – xTraits™ – the world’s first seed traits activated purely by precise light signals.

The round attracted a strategic investor group led by the Ki Tua Fund—an early-stage venture fund backed by global dairy leader Fonterra—alongside Azolla Ventures, a climate-focused agtech investor, and iSelect Fund, a U.S.-based food, agriculture, and healthcare innovation fund. They join existing backers DYDX Capital, Rabo Ventures, AgriZero, MIG Angels, Icehouse Ventures, and OurCrowd, underscoring broad industry validation and global reach.

BioLumic is advancing high-value traits in corn, rice, soybean, and forage grasses for pasture-based dairy systems. The company’s xTraits™ technology enables seed company partners to deliver enhanced, non-GMO and non-GE traits up to 90% faster and more cost-effectively than traditional methods—unlocking new value across the agricultural supply chain.

The proprietary xTraits™ platform uses targeted UV light signals to program genetic expression in plants—without altering their DNA and without the regulatory hurdles of genetic modification. This new class of seed traits significantly improves yield, stress resilience, and nutritional composition; stacks with existing biotech traits; and dramatically reduces the time, cost, and risk of trait development.

“Seed traits are powerful and essential, but the innovation cycle is broken. Developing new traits takes too much time and capital to keep pace with market demand — creating tremendous risk for both seed companies and farmers,” said Steve Sibulkin, CEO of BioLumic. “The xTraits™ platform dramatically shortens the discovery-to-market timeline while stacking on top of existing varieties and trait packages. It’s a breakthrough solution to close the gap and meet urgent demand.”

The funding will accelerate the rollout of its corn, soybean, rice, and forage grass traits—with a goal of capturing 10% of the non-transgenic seed trait market within five years.

xTrait Platform Improves Productivity, Nutrition and Sustainability in Key Food Crops

In 2025, BioLumic launched its first commercial xTraits Activation System at Gro Alliance’s seed production facility, enabling partners to integrate xTraits into elite corn inbreds and hybrids. Field trials have shown light-activated hybrid corn achieved over 20% yield gains, building on 8% gains in activated inbred parent lines. These hybrid traits will be commercially deployed in the U.S. market for the 2026 planting season.

More than 10 additional traits are currently in development across multiple crops.

BioLumicis also accelerating development of forage grass traits, representing a major opportunity to improve profitability and sustainability in pasture-based systems. These traits aim to boost pasture productivity and energy density—helping producers increase milk output, reduce supplemental feed use, and improve sustainability outcomes.

Komal Mistry-Mehta, Ki Tua Fund Director and Fonterra’s Chief Innovation and Brand Officer, emphasized the potential of this partnership and value to NZ Inc: “Ki Tua Fund is focused on supporting startups that span Fonterra's value chain from on-farm productivity, manufacturing optimisation through to the future of food and health technologies. We know our dairy farmers need innovative solutions to increase profitability, and BioLumic's technology represents a potential game changer. In future, it could help Fonterra, and by extension NZ Inc, boost milk solids to manufacture into high value Ingredients and Foodservice exports.”

BioLumic's xTrait Activation System enables seed company partners to deliver enhanced, non-GMO and non-GE traits up to 90% faster and more cost-effectively than traditional methods—unlocking new value across the agricultural supply chain.

These benefits are part of a broader push to align agricultural productivity with climate-smart practices.

“BioLumic is creating a new category of seed traits that could help drive agricultural methane-reduction strategies, or what we call ‘Methane Moonshots’, like reducing the need for rice paddy flooding and changing the composition of pasture grass to cut enteric fermentation,” said Johanna Wolfson, General Partner at Azolla Ventures. “BioLumic delivers real-world climate advantages and economic value for farmers to create truly sustainable impact.”

With fresh funding and strong commercial momentum, BioLumicis advancing a new generation of non-GMO trait innovation—scaling high-performing, sustainable traits that meet the needs of farmers, seed companies, and the global food system.

About BioLumic:

Founded in 2013, BioLumic is a U.S.- and New Zealand-based agricultural biotechnology company using light signaling as a programming language for plants. Its patented xTraits™ technology unlocks non-GMO genetic expression traits to enhance yield, composition, and crop resilience through a one-time, light-based seed application. BioLumic traits are scalable, fast to develop, and easily integrated into existing seed systems. Learn mores at www.biolumic.com or contact info@biolumic.com.