The first spin-out from the Earlham Institute, TraitSeq is accelerating the development of agricultural products.
Combining cutting-edge machine learning approaches with gene expression data, TraitSeq’s technology provides predictive insights that accelerate lead assessment and improve efficiency in decision-making for the R&D of innovative agricultural solutions.
Evaluating the performance of new products and edited varieties traditionally requires extensive glasshouse and field trials. TraitSeq’s biomarkers empower agritech companies to confidently identify the most promising solutions, enabling faster market entry. The technology has potential applications in crop protection, gene editing and engineering, as well as trait discovery and pathway analysis.
The company, co-founded by Dr Joshua Colmer, Professor Anthony Hall, John Bloomer and Dr Felicity Knowles, builds on research conducted during Dr Colmer’s PhD at the Earlham Institute, which was supported by a BBSRC National Productivity Investment Fund studentship focused on using AI to tackle industrial challenges.
Co-founder Professor Hall was funded as part of the Earlham BBSRC Institute’s core strategic program “From Genomes to Food Security and Healthy Life”. TraitSeq extends the development of this research area.
Prior to spin-out, BBSRC Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) funding enabled the initial development and validation of commercialising the technology through industry engagement. Since then, TraitSeq has gone from strength to strength and has received further investment through Innovate UK and pre-seed investors, alongside generating commercial revenue.