VIB lança nova spin-off de agrotecnologia Rainbow Crops para desenvolver variedades de culturas resilientes ao clima
VIB has announced the launch of its latest spin-off, Rainbow Crops, a next-generation Agtech company focused on engineering complex, high-value agronomic traits that have long been difficult to address. Through an AI-powered technology platform that combines multiplex genome editing and precision breeding,
Rainbow Crops develops crop varieties that are both climate resilient and optimized for yield and other key traits. The company is backed by a strong syndicate of early-stage investors, including Agri Investment Fund (AIF), PINC (the venture capital arm of Paulig Group), Qbic and VIB.
Rainbow Crops has developed an integrated platform, Trait Foundry, that combines continuously trained AI models with multiplex genome editing, precision breeding, and automated phenotyping. This technology enables the simultaneous enhancement of multiple traits by generating and testing rationally designed genetic diversity across a wide range of crop species. The platform’s scalability and applicability have already been demonstrated through initial proof-of-concept work.
The company is targeting key agronomic traits such as drought tolerance, heat resilience and input efficiency – critical traits in the face of climate change that have long been difficult to improve through traditional plant breeding. The platform’s AI engine is continuously refined using in-house generated phenotypic and genotypic data, improving trait prediction and platform performance over time.
The company is led by serial biotech entrepreneur Giacomo Bastianelli who joins as Co-founder and CEO of Rainbow Crops. “When I first met with the VIB scientists behind the technology, I was impressed by the results, which revealed a transformative approach to engineering complex traits,” commented Giacomo Bastianelli. “We’re forging partnerships with seed and breeding companies to co-develop next-generation crop genetics that tackle the challenges of tomorrow’s agri-food systems.”
Rainbow Crops is built on a solid scientific foundation. Prof. Hilde Nelissen, a leading researcher at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, is one of the scientific founders and will continue to support the company as a scientific advisor. The underlying technology is based on an European Research Council (ERC) grant, awarded to Prof. Dirk Inzé under the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.
The company launches operations with the support of a strong syndicate of European investors.
The group – comprising the Agri Investment Fund (AIF), PINC (the venture capital arm of Paulig Group), Qbic, and VIB – brings deep expertise across agriculture, food tech, and the commercialization of early-stage innovation, reinforcing Rainbow Crops’ strategic positioning from day one.
Headquartered at the new Bio-Incubator on the Eilandje site in Ghent, Rainbow Crops benefits from VIB’s extensive infrastructure – including state-of-the-art greenhouses and the VIB Agro-Incubator – designed to accelerate early-stage Agtech innovation and support R&D scale-up.
“The launch of Rainbow Crops highlights VIB’s ongoing commitment to fostering a vibrant Agtech innovation ecosystem,” added Jérôme Van Biervliet, Managing Director at VIB. “By combining scientific excellence with a forward-looking and technology-driven approach, Rainbow Crops is uniquely positioned to drive meaningful impact in global agriculture.”
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