Switch Bioworks, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company, has raised $17 million in Series Seed financing to advance its sustainable fertilizer technology.

The funding round was led by Change Forces Capital, with participation from investors such as Grantham Foundation, Astanor Ventures, Acre Venture Partners, and others, reflecting the increasing focus on sustainable solutions in agriculture.

About Switch Bioworks

Founded in 2022 as a spinout from Stanford University, Switch Bioworks develops sustainable nitrogen-fixing microbes using synthetic biology.

The company is focused on reducing the environmental impact of agriculture while making fertilizers more affordable for farmers.

Based in San Carlos, California, Switch Bioworks is committed to contributing to the growing global bioeconomy and improving the sustainability of food production.

Addressing the Environmental Impact of Fertilizers

Nitrogen fertilizer is essential for global food production, but its current production process is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, leading to significant CO2 emissions and environmental damage such as fertilizer runoff.

Switch Bioworks is working to change this by engineering symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing microbes that live on plant roots, providing a carbon-neutral, cost-effective alternative to traditional fertilizers.

“Few people realize that much of our food is grown using fossil fuel-based fertilizers. To decarbonize our economy, we need new ways to deliver nutrients to crops,” said Kartick Kumar, Managing Partner and CEO at Change Forces, the climate-focused fund spun out of King Philanthropies. “Switch Bioworks’ approach to biofertilizers offers a transformative solution to this challenge.”

Overcoming Technical Challenges

Switch Bioworks has developed a “switchable” engineering approach that addresses a major limitation of conventional biofertilizers.

Typically, engineered microbes struggle to compete with native soil microbes due to the high energy demands of producing nitrogen.

Switch Bioworks’ technology allows the microbes to first establish themselves on plant roots before activating nitrogen production, ensuring more efficient and sustainable fertilizer delivery throughout the growing season.

Dr. Tim Schnabel, founder and CEO of Switch Bioworks, explained, “Making nitrogen fertilizer with biology has been a scientific goal for 50 years. Our switchable microbes overcome the energy barriers that have limited biofertilizers in the past, enabling them to compete in soil and produce nitrogen effectively.”

Expanding Beyond Nitrogen

While the company’s initial focus is on nitrogen fertilizer, Switch Bioworks is building a modular platform that can improve the performance of a wide range of biological products.

This platform could have broader applications across the agriculture and biotech industries, and the company is actively seeking partnerships to expand its reach.

Funding to Support Product Development

Including a pre-seed round in 2022 and grants from organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Switch Bioworks has now raised over $25 million.

The latest financing will support the final stages of product development for its nitrogen-fixing microbes, including scaling up fermentation processes and conducting field trials both in the U.S. and internationally.