Indigo

What Indigo does

Indigo Ag is a Boston-based agricultural technology company founded in 2013 by Flagship Pioneering, operating three core business lines: microbial biological products for crops (biotrinsic), verified agricultural soil carbon credits (Carbon by Indigo), and a sustainability traceability platform (Source by Indigo, now part of Terion). The company's underlying technology rests on a proprietary microbe library of approximately 1,800+ microbial strains, the CLIPS computational platform used to discover and develop microbe-based products, the SCX (Soil Carbon X) modeling and MRV system for carbon credit generation, and satellite remote sensing/computer vision capabilities inherited from the TellusLabs acquisition. The biologicals business applies microbial seed coatings and foliar treatments to improve crop yield, drought tolerance, and nutrient use efficiency.

The carbon business aggregates farm-level practice changes (cover cropping, reduced tillage, diversified rotations) across enrolled acres, applies ML-driven MRV to quantify soil carbon sequestration, and issues verified credits registered with ICVCM (Core Carbon Principles), Climate Action Reserve, and Verra. These credits are sold to corporate sustainability buyers to meet Scope 3 and net-zero commitments. Source by Indigo provided grain traceability linking on-farm practices to commodity buyers; this business was combined with CIBO Technologies into a new entity, Terion, in mid-2026.

Indigo's business model combines product sales to growers (biologicals), multi-year credit offtake contracts with corporate buyers (carbon), and emerging digital services revenue through Terion. Pricing for biologicals is per-acre and per-crop; carbon credits are priced per tCO2e with multi-year delivery commitments (e.g., the Microsoft contract delivers 2.85M credits over 12 years at $171M-$228M total). Customer segments include row-crop and specialty-crop growers, agribusiness distribution partners (40+ reported), and corporate buyers across technology (Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, Shopify), financial services (Barclays, JPMorgan, BCG), and apparel/consumer (The North Face, Ralph Lauren). Geographic footprint spans the US, with international expansion via the Grow Indigo joint venture with Mahyco in India.

Name

Indigo

Legal name

Indigo Ag, Inc.

Website

http://www.indigoag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Boston-based agricultural technology company founded in 2013 that develops plant-microbiome biologicals and verified soil carbon credits, serving row-crop farmers, agribusiness distributors, and corporate sustainability buyers including Microsoft, Google, and major financial institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Agriculture Solutions

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing (325311)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Soil Carbon & Regenerative Agriculture Removal (Soil Organic Carbon Credits) (EUABAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Soil & Biomass Carbon Measurement (Soil Sampling, Forest Inventory, Blue Carbon) (EUABACAH), Regenerative Agriculture (Soil Carbon, Cover Crops, Reduced/No-Till) (AFAGAMAA)

Keywords

• Agricultural carbon credits
• Microbial seed treatments
• Regenerative agriculture programs
• Soil carbon MRV
• Biological crop solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Carbon credit sales: Registry-issued soil carbon credits sold to corporations and individuals; pricing outcome-based on verified tonnes of CO2e, with farmers receiving 75% of the weighted net price on a five-year payment schedule. Largest stream with 2M+ credits issued to date.
2. Biological product sales (biotrinsic): Sale of microbe-based seed and foliar treatments to farmers through ag retail partners and direct channels across five major crops and four core stresses.
3. CLIPS technology licensing: Licensing of the CLIPS seed treatment device and system to agribusiness partners (e.g., GROWMARK) for use with their own products or bundled with biotrinsic.
4. Sustainability program services (corporate/enterprise): Multi-year managed services engagements with corporations and agribusinesses for emissions reductions/removals, supply chain footprinting, Scope 3 programs, and aligned with GHG Protocol and SBTi; delivered via turnkey platform.
5. Water conservation programs: Water programs for water-intensive corporations (e.g., data center operators) that invest in regenerative agriculture to drive measurable water conservation, soil moisture storage, and groundwater replenishment.
6. Low-carbon biofuels programs: Programs that help run low-carbon-intensity (CI) feedstock programs with farmers and generate revenue from clean fuel markets and 45Z/U.S. biofuels tax credit programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Indigo Ag operates an agricultural technology platform that combines microbe-based biological seed and foliar treatments (biotrinsic) with the largest registry-approved agricultural soil carbon credit program (Carbon by Indigo). Farmers adopt regenerative practices, generate verified soil carbon credits via Indigo's MRV engine, and receive 75% of credit revenue, while corporations and agribusinesses purchase high-integrity carbon credits, sustainability program services, and biological products to meet Scope 3 and ESG commitments.

Product overview

Indigo Ag operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture combining biological products with science-backed regenerative agriculture programs. At its core are two business units: Indigo Biologicals (the biotrinsic® microbial seed/foliar treatments portfolio with ~25 products across five major crops and four core stresses, applied via Indigo's CLIPS™ seed treatment device) and Indigo Carbon (the Carbon by Indigo soil carbon credit program, the largest registry-approved ag soil carbon program with 2M+ credits issued to date). Surrounding these is the Source by Indigo sustainability solutions platform offering end-to-end MRV-backed emissions reduction, removal, water conservation, and low-carbon biofuel programs for agribusinesses and corporations (now combined with CIBO Technologies into Terion to form an AI-enabled digital infrastructure layer for agriculture). Supporting modules include FieldFlex (flexible sustainability program), Indigo Marketplace (digital grain marketing), and the Soil Carbon Experiment (SCX) research program. Acquired technologies include TellusLabs (satellite imagery + AI) and Soil Metrics (soil carbon/GHG assessment). International operations include the Grow Indigo JV (with Mahyco in India), Indigo Europe (Germany, Ukraine, Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia), Indigo Brazil, Indigo Argentina, and Indigo Turkey distributors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carbon by Indigo: Registry-approved agricultural soil carbon credit program partnering with farmers, agribusinesses, and corporate credit buyers; the largest registry-approved ag soil carbon program in the market.
• biotrinsic by Indigo
• CLIPS
• Indigo Carbon
• Terion
• Grow Indigo

Products and services

• Carbon by Indigo

Quantifiable outcome

• 2M+ registry-issued agricultural soil carbon credits (largest program of its kind)
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• MicrosoftflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner12-year strategic agreement for the purchase of 2.85 million soil carbon removal credits valued at $171M-$228M, the largest soil carbon credit deal ever. Builds on prior transactions of 40,000 tonnes (2024) and 60,000 tonnes (2025). Supports Microsoft's carbon-negative-by-2030 goal and aligns with surging AI data center emissions.
• GoogleflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigo Ag received $1.5 million from Google for a regenerative agriculture program in Oklahoma that supports water-saving practices and watershed health in communities where Google operates.
• GROWMARKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiological-and Sustainability-Based Strategic Partnership. Includes licensing of the CLIPS seed treatment system and access to Indigo's market-leading biotrinsic biological portfolio for GROWMARK's member-owners, validated through AgValidity and MiField trial programs and the Cooperative Ventures venture fund.
• Climate Action ReservecoreTechnology or IntegrationRegistry partner: issues Indigo's Carbon by Indigo credits and confirms their eligibility for sale under the Soil Enrichment Protocol. Climate Action Reserve developed the Soil Enrichment Protocol with input from Indigo's team and issues the market's first sustainable agriculture credits with the ICVCM CCP label.
• VerracoreTechnology or IntegrationRegistry partner supporting Carbon by Indigo's methodologies for soil carbon credit issuance, along with the Climate Action Reserve; enables global-scale credit verification.
• Soil MetricscoreTechnology or IntegrationAcquired by Indigo Agriculture to expand soil carbon science, improve soil carbon modeling, expand climate-smart agriculture solutions, and help farmers generate sustainable financial incentives. Soil Metrics specializes in soil carbon and greenhouse gas assessment technologies.
• TellusLabscoreTechnology or IntegrationAcquired by Indigo (December 2018). TellusLabs is a satellite imaging and AI company based in Somerville, MA, contributing to Indigo's living map of the world's food supply and yield-from-space analytics.
• CIBO TechnologiesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCombined with Indigo Ag's Source business in June 2026 to form Terion, a new company focused on building trusted digital infrastructure for modern agriculture, headquartered in Boston with operations in the US Midwest and Brazil.
• MahycocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner with Indigo Ag in Grow Indigo (GIPL), an India-focused agricultural carbon credit program launched in 2022 covering approximately 30,000 acres of smallholder rice farmers in Punjab and Haryana.
• BCI (Better Cotton Initiative)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerIndigo Ag provided the measurement and verification technology for BCI's pilot project achieving verified GHG reductions across 19,000+ acres of US cotton growers in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri; farmers received $53/tonne.
• Corteva AgrisciencecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgribusiness partner offering Carbon by Indigo to its farmer network and adopting Indigo's methodology for sustainability programs.
• Firebolt AgminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCarbon partner using Indigo Ag's Carbon by Indigo program to manage risk through diversification across its farming and drone operations.
• BCG (Boston Consulting Group)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerStrategic partnership to develop promising technologies and scale high-quality carbon sequestration projects; both a credit buyer and thought-leadence co-development partner.
• Cool EffectminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOffers Indigo carbon offsets on the Cool Effect consumer-facing carbon credit platform, distributing Indigo's high-quality credits to individuals and businesses.
• Anheuser-BuschcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainable rice program partnership; Indigo Ag's MRV and sustainability platform supports data-driven grain sourcing for Anheuser-Busch rice buyers.
• SalesforcecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSalesforce has signed major carbon credit deals including through Rubicon Carbon and Indigo Carbon as part of its $100M First Movers Coalition pledge; carbon removal pre-purchase agreements.
• Paul Hawken (Author of Drawdown and Regeneration)minorOthersEndorses Indigo Ag's regenerative agriculture approach as a key climate solution; cited on Indigo's soil carbon science page.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pivot Bio: Pivot Bio develops microbe-based nitrogen-fixing crop nutrition products for corn and other row crops, making it the closest direct competitor to Indigo's biotrinsic microbial seed and foliar treatment portfolio. Both target the same ag retail and grower channels with science-backed biological alternatives to conventional inputs.
• Nori: Nori operates a voluntary carbon market platform focused on agricultural soil carbon sequestration, directly competing with Carbon by Indigo for farmer enrollment and corporate credit buyers. Both companies pursue registry-issued credits backed by MRV methodologies.
• Soil Capital: Soil Capital is a European regen ag carbon platform paying European farmers for verified soil carbon sequestration and selling credits to corporations, making it a regional direct peer to Carbon by Indigo across Indigo's European footprint.
• CIBO Technologies: CIBO Technologies provides AI-driven land and agricultural intelligence for sustainability and Scope 3 programs, and combined with Indigo's Source business to form Terion in June 2026. Pre-combination, it was a directly comparable digital ag MRV peer.
• Bioceres Crop Solutions: Bioceres is a Latin American agricultural biologicals and seed company (HB4 drought-tolerance, microbial inoculants) operating across Argentina and Brazil markets where Indigo also distributes biologicals. Comparable business model combining biological inputs with sustainability-linked outcomes.
• AgBiome: AgBiome is a microbial crop protection and biologicals company developing products from a proprietary microbial library, directly comparable to Indigo's biotrinsic microbiome platform. Both target row crop and specialty growers with science-driven biological alternatives.

Broad incumbents

• Cargill RegenConnect: Cargill's RegenConnect program pays farmers for regenerative practices and sells Scope 3 outcomes to corporate buyers, directly overlapping Indigo's Carbon by Indigo and Source offerings. As a global agribusiness incumbent, Cargill has deeper farmer reach but offers carbon as part of a much broader commodity and inputs portfolio.
• Bayer ForGround (Climate FieldView): Bayer's ForGround platform combines regenerative agriculture incentives with its Climate FieldView digital agronomy suite, mirroring Indigo's combination of carbon programs, biologicals, and digital farmer tools. Bayer brings incumbent seed/traits scale, biologicals research, and a global ag retail footprint.
• Pachama: Pachama is a digital carbon credit marketplace primarily focused on forestry credits but increasingly expanding into agricultural soil carbon, competing with Indigo for corporate buyers seeking high-integrity nature-based offsets.
• Syngenta Group (incl. Syngenta Biologicals): Syngenta is a global ag inputs incumbent with a growing biologicals portfolio (acquisitions and partnerships) and regenerative agriculture programs, overlapping with Indigo's biologicals business and channel-partner strategy. Indigo's founding CFO Pedro Langa's earlier career included a Syngenta Ventures role, indicating industry overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Indigoag
• Facebookfacebook.com/IndigoAgriculture
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/indigoag

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds12 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Indigo