Pairwise Plants Funding, Investors & Competitors

Pairwise Plants has raised $155M across 3 funding rounds, most recently a $40M Series C in September 2024.

Last Pairwise Plants funding round

$40M

Series C · Sep 2024

Cumulative funding Pairwise Plants raised

$155M

across 3 funding rounds

Key investors in Pairwise Plants

  • Deerfield
  • Leaps by Bayer
  • Aliment Capital
  • Temasek
  • Monsanto Growth Ventures (MGV)
  • Corteva

Pairwise Plants Overview

About Pairwise Plants

Pairwise Plants is a gene-editing company developing improved fruits and vegetables using base editing technologies licensed from Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital. Durham, North Carolina-headquartered and founded in 2018, it targets leafy greens, berries, and stone fruits, with commercial products like seedless blackberries launched in 2024 through partnerships with retailer Pilot Company. Pairwise employs 150 scientists and operates greenhouses in the Southeast U.S., holding over 100 patents for traits enhancing flavor, texture, and shelf life.


Founded

2017

HQ

United StatesDurham, NC

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Licensing, Product sales

Pairwise Plants Funding History

Pairwise Plants has raised a total of $155M across 3 funding rounds.

Pairwise Plants' first fundraising round was a $25M Series A in March 2018. The most recent completed round was a $40M Series C in September 2024.

Pairwise Plants funding rounds

Pairwise Plants funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Sep 2024Series CDeerfield (lead); Corteva; Aliment Capital; Leaps by Bayer$40MPairwise Plants is a Durham, NC-based agtech company using advanced gene editing technologies, including CRISPR tools and multiplexing, to improve plant breeding in specialty crops like seedless berries, pitless cherries, leafy greens, and blackberries, as well as commodity crops such as corn, soy, wheat, and canola. The company develops differentiated plant genetics for climate resilience, nutrition, convenience, and grower economics via its proprietary Fulcrum Platform. On September 17, 2024, Pairwise closed a $40 million Series C funding round led by Deerfield Management, with participation from returning investors Aliment Capital and Leaps by Bayer, and new investor Corteva Inc. through its Corteva Catalyst platform, bringing total equity funding to $155 million. The capital will scale the product pipeline and advance the Fulcrum Platform. In parallel, Pairwise and Corteva entered a five-year joint venture to accelerate gene-edited technologies for climate-resilient row crops like corn and soy. Pairwise has key partnerships, including an exclusive licensing agreement with Bayer for 10 edited greens varieties and ongoing development of new ones, plus delivery of 27 novel traits under a prior five-year deal and a new multiyear collaboration for short-stature corn offering better wind resistance, yield, and sustainability. Investors highlight Pairwise's leadership in precision gene editing for agriculture transformation.
Feb 2021Series BAliment Capital (lead); Temasek; Leaps by Bayer; Deerfield$90MPairwise Plants is a Durham, N.C.-based agtech company pioneering gene editing, particularly CRISPR technology, to develop new varieties of fruits and vegetables as well as improvements in commodity crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, canola, and cotton. The company announced a $90 million Series B funding round on February 2, 2021, led by Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund (Pontifax AgTech) and Deerfield Management. Prior to this, Pairwise raised $25 million in Series A funding in March 2018 led by Deerfield and Leaps by Bayer, and entered a $100 million collaboration with Bayer Crop Science for gene editing tools in row crops. The Series B funding supported Pairwise's efforts to bring new healthy, sustainable food innovations to market, building on its gene editing platform, plant breeding expertise, and consumer insights. By early 2021, the company had grown to 100 team members across two Durham locations, with further expansion planned. Subsequently, Pairwise raised additional capital, including a $40 million Series C round in September 2024 led by Deerfield, with participation from Aliment Capital, Leaps by Bayer, Temasek, and Corteva Catalyst, bringing total fundraising to $155 million across three rounds. Funds from later rounds advanced products like seedless blackberries, pitless cherries, and the Fulcrum platform, alongside partnerships such as a five-year joint venture with Corteva for climate-resilient crops.
Mar 2018Series ADeerfield (lead); Monsanto Growth Ventures (MGV) (lead); Leaps by Bayer$25MPairwise Plants, a gene-editing startup founded in-house by Monsanto Growth Ventures and leading scientists from Harvard, Broad Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital, raised a $25 million Series A round on March 20, 2018, co-led by Deerfield Management and Monsanto Growth Ventures (MGV), with both becoming minority shareholders. The company licenses programmable base editing technology from Harvard University and leverages CRISPR-based tools to develop new crop varieties with improved traits like reduced bruising, extended shelf life, enhanced flavor, and climate resilience. Pairwise aims to address food waste, security, nutrition, and enable global collaborations through technology licensing. In parallel, Monsanto Company entered an exclusive collaboration with Pairwise for row crops including corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and canola, contributing $100 million to access and develop Pairwise's intellectual property, with options to commercialize resulting products. Pairwise plans independent work on specialty crops like strawberries and apples via in-house programs and partnerships with agriculture and food companies. Leadership includes CEO Tom Adams, formerly Monsanto's VP of global biotechnology, and chief business officer Haven Baker, ex-Simplot Plant Sciences. Investors highlighted Pairwise's potential to transform agriculture beyond row crops using modern gene-editing tools. Deerfield, experienced in human health gene-editing, sees parallels for agriculture. MGV views it as complementing Monsanto's platforms in breeding, biotech, crop protection, and data science to help farmers amid climate challenges.

Who has invested in Pairwise Plants?

6 investors have backed Pairwise Plants across its funding rounds, including Deerfield, Leaps by Bayer, Aliment Capital, Temasek, Monsanto Growth Ventures (MGV) and Corteva.

Lead investors include Deerfield, Aliment Capital and Monsanto Growth Ventures (MGV).


Pairwise Plants Investors

Investors in Pairwise Plants by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Leaps by BayerGermanyLeverkusen3ParticipantMar 2018
DeerfieldUnited StatesNew York City, NY3LeadMar 2018
Aliment CapitalUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA2LeadFeb 2021
TemasekSingaporeSingapore1ParticipantFeb 2021

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Pairwise Plants Competitors

Pairwise Plants competitors include listed companies like CF Industries, Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, Industries Qatar and SABIC Agri-Nutrient, and private ones like Colossal Biosciences and Biobest.

Public and private companies comparable to Pairwise Plants
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
CF IndustriesUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$7.1B$3.2B$20B3.1x
Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryChinaChinaPublicly listed$2.3B$1.2B$20B4.5x
Industries QatarQatarQatarPublicly listed$4.4B$1.6B$17B4.4x
SABIC Agri-NutrientSaudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaPublicly listed$3.5B$1.4B$16B4.1x
Colossal BiosciencesUnited StatesAustin, TXPrivate--$10B-
BiobestBelgiumWesterloPrivate--$1.5B-

Pairwise Plants Public Comps

Pairwise Plants is still privately-owned, but its public comps include CF Industries, Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, Industries Qatar, SABIC Agri-Nutrient, Zhejiang NHU, Fertiglobe, Cathay Biotech, PI Indus, K+S and Bloomage BioTechnology.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
CF Industries$7.1B$3.2B3.5x3.1x7.7x6.8x
Qinghai Salt Lake Industry$2.3B$1.2B6.9x4.5x13.3x7.3x
Industries Qatar$4.4B$1.6B3.4x4.4x9.5x14.1x
SABIC Agri-Nutrient$3.5B$1.4B3.8x4.1x9.5x10.1x
Zhejiang NHU$3.3B$1.5B3.5x3.1x7.6x6.7x
Fertiglobe$2.8B$1B2.5x2.1x6.9x5.8x
Cathay Biotech$491M$115M6.7x5.9x28.5x22.1x
PI Indus$695M$199M4.8x4.6x16.7x18.9x

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Common questions about Pairwise Plants

When was Pairwise Plants founded?Pairwise Plants was founded in 2017.
Where is Pairwise Plants headquartered?Pairwise Plants is headquartered in Durham, NC, United States.
Is Pairwise Plants publicly listed?No, Pairwise Plants is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has Pairwise Plants raised?Pairwise Plants has raised $155M across 3 funding rounds.
What was Pairwise Plants' last funding round?Pairwise Plants' last funding round was a $40M Series C in September 2024, led by Deerfield.
Who are Pairwise Plants' investors?Pairwise Plants' investors include Leaps by Bayer, Deerfield, Aliment Capital, Temasek, Corteva and Monsanto Growth Ventures (MGV).
Which companies are comparable to Pairwise Plants?Companies comparable to Pairwise Plants include CF Industries, Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, Industries Qatar, SABIC Agri-Nutrient, Colossal Biosciences and Biobest.

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