Biome Makers secures $4m Series A in another sign that investors are digging soil science startups

These tiny organisms — think bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, algae, nematodes or protozoa — are crucial to how a plant absorbs nutrients from the soil and grows. There is a huge opportunity to improve the health and productivity levels of farms globally.” Ferrero founded Biome Makers in Silicon Valley in 2015 alongside his CSO Alberto Acedo. The pair previously co-founded a digital healthcare startup; both have a scientific background, and have opted to locate the company between Valladolid, Spain, and California’s wine country. After starting with vineyards, Biome Makers has expanded its proprietary ecological computing technology to more crops, seeking to evaluate soil bioactivity to improve sustainable food production. This year, Biome Makers also became the first startup to occupy the CoLaborator Suite, a new agricultural innovation space that Bayer Crop Science has enabled with its R&D center in California.