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Pivot Bio develops microbial solutions for crop nutrition, specifically designing products that enable plants to produce their own nitrogen. These proprietary microbes attach directly to plant roots, facilitating a daily and consistent supply of nitrogen from the atmosphere, thus reducing reliance on traditional synthetic fertilizers. This biological approach optimizes nutrient delivery and minimizes environmental impact by preventing nitrogen runoff.
The company was founded in 2011 by Karsten Temme and Alvin Tamsir, who met as graduate school lab-mates. Their core insight stemmed from a shared recognition that conventional nitrogen fertilization methods were unsustainable, leading them to pursue a biological alternative to enhance crop yield while safeguarding ecological health. Their work originated from a desire to transform agricultural practices with innovative science.
Pivot Bio primarily serves farmers seeking effective and environmentally conscious crop management tools. The company’s overarching mission is to equip growers with sustainable and predictable alternatives to synthetic nitrogen, ultimately striving to improve farming’s economic viability and its long-term impact on global environmental systems. They envision a future where agriculture is inherently more sustainable.
Pivot Bio has raised $616.8M across 5 funding rounds.
Pivot Bio has raised $616.8M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Pivot Bio has raised $616.8M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $430.0M Series D in July 2021.
Pivot Bio has raised $616.8M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Pivot Bio's investors include DCVC (Data Collective), Temasek, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Calibrate Ventures, Dimension Capital, Giant Ventures, Hyperplane Venture Capital, IA Ventures, Lux Capital, Recode Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Tekfen Ventures.
Pivot Bio is a biotechnology company developing microbial nitrogen fertilizers that replace synthetic alternatives for crops like corn, wheat, and grains. It serves farmers in North America (and soon Brazil) by solving the problems of unreliable, polluting synthetic nitrogen—reducing greenhouse gas emissions, runoff, and costs while boosting yields up to 4.4%[5][7]. Its flagship product, PROVEN™ (latest: G3), uses gene-edited soil microbes to fix atmospheric nitrogen directly at plant roots all season, enabling up to 25-40 pounds per acre replacement of traditional fertilizer[1][2][4][7]. With strong growth on millions of acres, Pivot Bio has raised significant funding (e.g., $100M Series C in ~2021) and earned accolades like TIME's best inventions and MIT Tech Review's climate tech watchlist[6][7].
Founded in 2011 (sources note 2010-2011) in Berkeley, California, Pivot Bio emerged from MIT synthetic biology research by co-founders Chris Voigt (MIT professor), Karsten Temme (Chief Innovation Officer), and Alvin Tamsir[3][4][7]. The idea stemmed from Voigt's challenges during a tough career period, leading to engineering of naturally occurring soil microbes for nitrogen fixation without foreign genes, simplifying U.S. regulatory approval[2][7]. Early traction hit in 2019 via partnerships with corn seed dealers, scaling to millions of acres by proving field efficacy and launching PROVEN™[1][7].
Pivot Bio rides the sustainable agtech wave, addressing agriculture's 2-3% of global GHG emissions from synthetic nitrogen amid climate volatility, food demand growth, and fertilizer price spikes[3][5][7]. Timing aligns with regulatory pushes for eco-friendly inputs, gene-editing advancements (e.g., CRISPR-like edits), and farmer shifts to precision nutrition—replacing a $212B market opportunity[5]. It influences the ecosystem by validating bio-nitrogen as viable (millions of acres adopted), inspiring deep tech in microbiomes, and partnering with incumbents like seed dealers, while paving for multi-nutrient microbes[4][6][7].
Pivot Bio is poised to expand beyond grains to all crops/nutrients globally, leveraging its platform for tailored solutions amid rising sustainability mandates and volatility. Trends like AI-driven microbe mapping, digital farm platforms, and carbon markets will accelerate adoption, potentially dominating bio-fertilizer as synthetics face scrutiny. Its influence could reshape ag as the go-to for "nature-powered" nutrition, scaling from U.S. millions of acres to worldwide impact—building on PROVEN's proven edge to feed billions more productively and cleanly[4][6][7].
