Agri-tech start-up Rainbow Crops has raised 9.7 million euros in a new funding round led by Italian venture capital firm LIFTT.
The investment, which was oversubscribed, also saw participation from existing backers, including VIB and Agri Investment Fund, as well as new partner Corteva, a global agriculture giant. This follows a recent 7 million dollars grant from the Gates Foundation, bringing significant momentum to the company’s mission.
Rainbow Crops leverages artificial intelligence and gene editing to rapidly develop crops capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions, such as drought and heatwaves. Unlike traditional breeding methods that take years, the company’s technology platform tests multiple genetic modifications simultaneously, enabling faster identification of traits that enhance crop resilience. The approach has already proven successful in maize.
With the new capital, Rainbow Crops plans to expand its technology, add more crops to its research pipeline, and hire additional scientific staff in Ghent. The team, currently ten strong, aims to grow to 13–14 employees by the end of the year.
CEO and co-founder Giacomo Bastianelli stated, “This investment allows us to transition from early validation to broad deployment of our platform, accelerating the development of complex traits like yield and stress resilience – making this technology accessible to global partners.”
