Based out of San Francisco, the farm and biotechnology firm, Fyto, is reshaping the way both hardware and software can be utilized in the service of enhancing everyday plants for such purposes as feed for cows, nutrient-rich soil, and basic foods. According to its CEO Jason Prapas, who founded the company out of MIT in 2019, Fyto is in the business of cultivating so-called "superplants," or aquatic plants scaled at a sophisticated and automated rate.
Fyto first came on the scene as a major player in 2021, when the firm ran a pilot program with the likes of a dairy farm. Fyto's layered technology was successfully utilized in the Northern Californian dairy farm to grow Lemna, which was born out of manure as the main feedstock. It's especially beneficial for said cows, given that around 77% of the planet's soy is given to livestock, allotting new ways to maintain such farms.
Dairy cows have become one of Fyto's most trusted business partners, leveraging their technology to raise and feed livestock to benefit future dairy and meat production. Fyto leverages the farm's waste streams, improving operations by 50% and over, according to the company's founder, in areas such as nutrient management and general productivity while limiting greenhouse gasses, production costs, and even water usage.
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The company uses these massive ponds that grow the plants within a water basin, with many technological innovations integrated into them. The pilot-scale automated cultivation system allows farmers to move the crops around with automated robots and scooping devices, given that the crops themselves aren't rooted into the ground. Fyto also doesn't use any seeds, as the plants are reproduced through a so-called "vegatative" process, according to the firm's CEO.
Prapas describes the seedless growth behind the company's superplants as akin to generational growth, wherein a "mother" plant will die off and splinter into the next generation, doubling every several days in the system. This process ensures that farmers aren't stressing over land preparations and are keener on keeping environments controlled for the seedless growth process to work properly.
The 2021 pilot program proved that Fyto's engineered system could be utilized year-round. Prapas' so-called superplants were also found to be rich in several necessary nutrients, such as vitamins, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals, and more, making them highly digestible and palatable for cows. Fyto is heading into its first stage of packaging products for consumers later this year, with its pilot program acting as an educational front for its underlying technology and the avid need for funding.
Thus far, Fyto has raised a total of $18 million, largely due to its most recent round of Series A funding garnered on Thursday, July 7. The new monetary gain of $15 million comes via GV (formerly known as Google Ventures), aided by Fyto's existing investors, including First Star Ventures, Bolt, AgFunder, and Refactor Capital. Fyto's additional coffers allow the firm to enhance its scope in the agricultural realm, taking on new talent while engaging with food producers, garnering feed ingredients, and better developing its technology.
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