Agricultural biotechnology startup Resurrect Bio has raised an oversubscribed €8.8 million ($10.3 million) Series A round to advance its crop disease resistance technologies.
The round was led by Corteva Agriscience through its Corteva Catalyst platform, with participation from Calculus Capital, Pymwymic, UKI2S managed by Future Planet Capital, SynBioVen, and AgFunder. The company had previously secured more than €6.8 million ($8 million) in an earlier close earlier this year, bringing its total Series A financing to completion and total funding since launch to approximately $12.4 million.
What The Company Does
Resurrect Bio develops biotechnology platforms designed to improve disease resistance in crops by reactivating natural resistance traits already present within plant genomes.
The company focuses on identifying dormant or inactive resistance genes and restoring their protective function through advanced computational biology, gene editing, and plant science techniques. Rather than introducing foreign genetic material, the platform aims to strengthen crops by enhancing their own existing immune mechanisms against pathogens.
Its technology stack includes FloraFold®, an AI-driven discovery platform used to predict plant-pathogen protein interactions, alongside a high-throughput biological validation system that tests these predictions experimentally.
The company’s broader Resurrection platform is designed to reactivate hidden resistance traits within elite crop germplasm, helping plant breeders and seed companies develop crops with stronger and potentially more durable disease resistance.
Resurrect Bio is also working with agricultural partners to accelerate deployment of these traits into commercial farming systems, including a previously announced collaboration with Corteva Agriscience focused on disease-resistant corn varieties.
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Market Context / Industry Background
Agricultural producers globally face increasing pressure from crop diseases, climate instability, and tightening restrictions on chemical pesticide usage. Plant pathogens continue to cause significant yield losses across major crops, creating both food security and economic challenges for agricultural systems.
At the same time, regulatory and environmental concerns are encouraging the development of more sustainable crop protection strategies that reduce dependency on synthetic pesticides.
Advances in AI-driven biology and gene editing technologies are enabling agricultural biotechnology companies to identify and modify beneficial traits more rapidly than traditional breeding methods. This has contributed to growing investment in platforms focused on plant resilience, disease resistance, and climate adaptation.
Resurrect Bio positions itself within this emerging category by combining computational biology, functional genomics, and gene editing to enhance natural plant immunity without introducing external DNA.
Founder / Investor Commentary
The company was founded in 2022 by Professor Sophien Kamoun, Professor Tolga Bozkurt, and Dr Cian Duggan as a spinout from The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich.
CEO Dr Cian Duggan stated that the funding reflects increasing confidence in scalable AI-driven approaches to crop disease resistance. According to Duggan, the company’s objective is to combine the UK’s plant science research capabilities with commercial deployment through partnerships with seed companies and plant breeders.
He also noted that the company is actively expanding its team and seeking additional joint development agreements to accelerate adoption of resistant crop traits within agricultural markets.
Growth Plans / Use Of Funds
The newly raised capital will support expansion of Resurrect Bio’s three core technology platforms, including FloraFold®, its high-throughput functional biology systems, and the Resurrection platform for reactivating resistance traits.
The company also plans to deepen collaborations with seed companies and breeding organisations to accelerate commercial deployment of disease-resistant crop varieties.
Additional investment will support team growth, platform scaling, and continued development of crop protection technologies designed to improve agricultural sustainability and resilience.
About Resurrect Bio
Resurrect Bio is a London-based agricultural biotechnology company founded in 2022 as a spinout from The Sainsbury Laboratory. The company develops AI-driven and gene-editing technologies designed to improve natural disease resistance in crops by reactivating dormant resistance genes already present within plant genomes. Resurrect Bio works with plant breeders and seed companies to develop more resilient crop varieties while reducing reliance on chemical pesticides.
