Agtech startup AgBiome Inc., Research Triangle Park, N.C., has developed plans to lay off potentially all of its employees, according to a letter from the company received by the North Carolina Department of Commerce on Oct. 17.
Consistent with these plans, separation notifications were expected to begin Oct. 16, with employees terminated effective Dec. 15, 2023. AgBiome said that it anticipates these changes, when finalized, to be permanent. The company said the timetable was based on the best information currently available, but that various factors may still affect the timing on any employment terminations.
The company supplied a list of some 123 employees that were in affected positions. The list includes AgBiome’s two Co-CEOs, Scott Uknes and Eric Ward. The company noted than none of the employees were represented by a labor union and that no bumping rights exist.
AgBiome issued a statement saying the company will “continue to produce, market, sell, and support our products for the foreseeable future” and that “our business is doing better than it ever has.”
“Unfortunately, we needed to raise capital in an extremely challenging VC and private equity market,” it said. “Many excellent companies, including AgBiome, are struggling to raise capital. We are continuing ongoing discussions with potential partners and investors that would push forward the company’s products, platform, and science.”
AgBiome’s proprietary Genesis™ platform captures microbes for agriculturally relevant applications and screens them for insect, disease, and nematode control. The company develops and sells proprietary crop protection solutions, including the fungicides Howler and Theia. The first of these, Howler, can be used on a broad variety of crops.
Founded in 2012, AgBiome has received multiple grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Other major investors include Bayer’s Leap, Novozymes, 180 Capital Corp., Aliment Capital, Novalis Life Sciences, Polarispartners, Utimco, Blue Horizon, and Arch Venture Partners.
In 2021, The Mosaic Co. announced that it would collaborate with AgBiome with the aim of launching novel biological approaches to enhancing soil fertility (GM March 26, 2021). Mosaic had not responded to inquiries at press time.