Boston Based Startup ‘Indigo Ag’ Is Making The World’s Most Resilient Crops To Survive Climate Change

Founded: 2014

Headquarter: Boston, MA

Industry: Agriculture

Founder: Noubar Afeyan and Geoffrey von Maltzahn

Indigo Ag develops crops capable of surviving climate change. The company finds plants thriving where they shouldn’t, then test them for unique microbes that the company can use in natural seed coatings to cultivate additional hardy specimens. In 2018, Indigo’s resilient corn demonstrated a 5.5% median uplift in yield per acre over the traditional seed. The company’s wheat yields improved around 13%, with gains in rice, soybeans, and cotton.

Farmers in five countries have planted more than a million acres of Indigo-enhanced seed, embracing what co-founder and chief innovation officer Geoffrey von Maltzahn calls a “probiotic” approach to agriculture. Indigo pro­jects more than $1 billion in revenue this year.

The yield benefits will help farmers improve grower profitability while increasing their capacity to feed a growing population. For consumers, Indigo Ag can begin to make fundamental changes in how our food is grown, like being more efficient with water and reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides over time.

Karan Jain

Born in the family of entrepreneurs and have inherited the same. Started building applications in order to pay for my tuition. Later founded a tech company, marketing agency, and media outlets.