Rainbow Crops raises €9.7M to scale AI-powered crop engineering

2026-06-16 · Source: Tech.eu - Tech.eu · Field: Agriculture & Food Systems — Precision Agriculture & Smart Farming, Crop Science & Plant Technology · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, quick

Summary

Rainbow Crops, a Belgian agritech startup, has secured €9.7 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by Italian venture capital firm LIFTT and its investment vehicle LIFTT EuroInvest. Existing investors AIF, PINC, and VIB participated, alongside new investors Corteva (through Corteva Catalyst) and Maia Ventures. This funding will advance its AI-powered Trait Foundry™ platform, which combines artificial intelligence, multiplex genome editing, precision breeding, and automated phenotyping. The platform aims to accelerate the development of more resilient and productive crop varieties by identifying and evaluating genetic variants for complex agronomic traits like yield and stress resilience. The company has demonstrated proof of concept in corn and plans to deploy the platform across additional crops and expand its scientific and technical teams.

Key takeaway

For agritech investors evaluating opportunities in crop innovation, Rainbow Crops' €9.7 million funding round highlights increasing confidence in AI-powered genome editing solutions. You should consider how such platforms address critical agricultural challenges like climate volatility and input costs, potentially shortening development timelines for resilient crops. This investment signals a growing market for integrated breeding and gene-editing technologies.

Key insights

AI-powered genome editing and precision breeding accelerate development of resilient, high-performing crop varieties.

Method

The Trait Foundry™ platform integrates AI, multiplex genome editing, precision breeding, and automated phenotyping to identify and evaluate genetic variant combinations for complex agronomic traits.

In practice

• Accelerate development of improved crop varieties
• Explore multi-gene traits at scale
• Enhance yield and stress resilience in crops

Topics

• AI in Agriculture
• Crop Engineering
• Genome Editing
• Precision Breeding
• Agritech Funding
• Trait Foundry

Best for: Investor, Entrepreneur, Domain Expert

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Tech.eu - Tech.eu.