Phytoform Labs Case Study

This UK and US-based startup brings together cutting edge technologies to make agriculture more sustainable by unlocking the genetic potential of plants.

“We saw the potential of using AI and genome editing to improve crops but make minimal changes. For example, by making small changes to plant DNA you can predictably change the activity of target genes to unlock previously inaccessible crop traits. Our innovative approach is making agriculture more sustainable and improving crop nutrition.”

With facilities designed specifically for start up agri-tech businesses, moving to Rothamsted was an easy decision for Phytoform Labs. Today, they benefit from cost-effective, world-class labs and equipment, access to academics and the wider UK talent pool, and a supportive tenant ecosystem

Discover more about Phytoform

Phytoform was founded with the aim of making agriculture sustainable using the plants own genetics. The premise is that the most important approach to solving these two issues is to harness the untapped potential of the plant’s DNA. Using AI and genome editing, the Phytoform team fine tunes the activity of target genes and introduces changes with minimum genetic disruption to deliver novel traits. To make the biggest impact possible, they’re building a platform to work on many different crops species.

In more detail:

Phytoform is accelerating natural crop evolution to build a resilient and future-secure food system, developing nature identical novel crop traits in just months.

For example, Phytoform has developed a revolutionary tomato variety, a mini tomato, that is only one-sixth the size of a conventional tomato plant but produces five times the amount of fruit in the same area as it’s larger predecessor. The innovation is particularly significant because it addresses multiple challenges simultaneously: food security, sustainable agriculture, and efficient use of growing space in controlled environments like vertical farms. After this success with tomatoes, the company has now turned its attention to various other crops including potatoes and corn. Including recently signing an agreement to develop improved corn genetics with Beck’s Hybrids, the 3^rd largest corn seed company in the US, and RAGT Seeds International which operates in 60 countries globally.

A short history of Phytoform Labs

2019   Founded by Dr Will Pelton (CEO) and Dr Nicolas Kral (CTO) and move to Rothamsted

2020 Raised pre-seed funding and signed first customer

2022 Raised Seed funding

2024 Develops and trials greenhouse tomato product and published first CRE.AI.TIVE^TM AI model results

2025 Signed agreement with Corteva, completed first UK gene edited potato field trials and joined £7.5Mn ARIA grant

Phytoform Labs hold patents for their technology and plant traits, with various additional patents pending.

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