Agritech startup Wild Bioscience has secured £45 million in Series A funding led by Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), the research organization founded by Oracle Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison.
The investment – alongside existing backers Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Braavos Capital and the University of Oxford – will advance the company’s mission to revolutionize global agriculture through AI-driven genetic discovery and precision breeding.
Ellison, one of the world’s most influential technology entrepreneurs who recently committed an additional £890 million to the Oxford Science Institute, said his institute’s partnership with Wild Bio is in line with his long-term vision of using data and science to solve humanity’s most pressing challenges.
“Wild Bio uses AI to better understand the insights from millions of years of evolution encoded in plant genomes,” Ellison said.
“These insights, combined with precision breeding, have enabled Wild Bio to develop new crop varieties with higher yields and climate resilience. The ultimate goal is to grow these crops on a commercial scale and contribute to food security around the world.”
Wild Bioscience was founded in 2021 by Dr. Founded by Ross Hendron and Professor Steve Kelly at the University of Oxford, it decodes genetic information from wild plant species – distilling hundreds of millions of years of natural evolution into data-driven insights.
Its proprietary platform identifies genetic innovations that increase crop productivity and resilience, then uses these discoveries to advance precision breeding for modern, high-performance seed varieties.
What sets Wild Bio apart is its computational biology and AI toolkit that maps plant development at scale and translates natural adaptations into actionable plant improvements.
The approach already goes beyond theory: Wild Bio’s leading projects take place in field trials in four countries, testing improved versions of staple foods under different climate and soil conditions.
“The advancement of agriculture has unlimited potential to help people and the planet,” said Dr. Hendron, CEO of Wild Bio. “To achieve meaningful, scalable impact, we need investors who share this vision. I am deeply grateful to EIT and our current investors for supporting us on the journey from scientific evidence to large-scale use.”
The funding will enable Wild Bio to expand its R&D and commercial activities, strengthen partnerships with seed developers and growers, and accelerate the introduction of its first market-ready crop varieties.
Professor Kelly, the company’s co-founder and chief scientific officer, said the partnership with the Ellison Institute would “create a powerful synergy” combining advanced biology with real-world innovation.
“Together we can reimagine sustainable agriculture on a global scale,” he said. “This collaboration will help us bring breakthrough technologies to market faster – improving crop resilience, increasing yields and promoting environmental sustainability.”
The deal also marks a milestone for Oxford’s growing ecosystem of science and technology spin-outs, many of which are attracting major global investment. Oxford Science Enterprises, which has supported over 80 spin-outs since its founding in 2015, called Wild Bio “one of the university’s most promising agtech companies.”
As climate change disrupts traditional agriculture and global food systems come under pressure due to population growth, the race to develop climate-smart crops has intensified.
Wild Bio’s data-driven approach aims to shorten breeding cycles, reduce reliance on genetic modification and provide farmers with varieties that can withstand drought, heat and disease – all while improving yield.
By integrating AI with biological data, the company represents a new wave of computational agriculture startups seeking to modernize the food system from the genome up.
With Ellison’s support and the scientific power of Oxford behind it, Wild Bio now has the capital and global network to move from field trials to mass production – a move that could determine the future of sustainable agriculture.
