What Windfall Bio does

Windfall Bio, Inc. is a San Mateo, California-based climate-agtech company founded in 2022 that converts waste methane emissions into organic fertilizer and certified carbon credits using proprietary non-GMO methanotrophic microbes called 'mems.' The core platform is a modular bioreactor system deployable at the methane source — including dairy manure lagoons, oil and gas flares, coal mine ventilation shafts, and landfill caps — that operates across methane concentrations from 0.2% (dilute ventilation air) to 60% (concentrated flare gas) without requiring gas purification or pipeline interconnection. The microbial biomass output is processed into FOUNDATION™, an OMRI-listed, LGMA-compliant organic fertilizer with 10% nitrogen content. Independent field trials showed 23–34% higher romaine lettuce yields versus conventional feather meal.

The company pursues a multi-vertical enterprise sales model targeting four customer segments: agriculture (dairy, livestock, produce growers), oil & gas operators with stranded or flared methane, coal mining operations, and waste management companies facing landfill fugitive emissions. Pricing is consultation-based and undisclosed; revenue mechanics combine FOUNDATION fertilizer sales (direct or through offtake agreements), certified carbon credit monetization enabled by real-time monitoring/MRV, and, in waste management applications, sale of microbial biomass as landfill biocover material. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales supported by strategic partnerships with CPG/food companies (Whole Foods Market, Straus) that act as channels into agricultural supplier networks.

Windfall Bio had raised approximately $37 million across a March 2023 $9M seed (led by Mayfield and UNTITLED) and an April 2024 $28M Series A (led by Prelude Ventures), with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Bessemer, and others. The company opened a $5 million Houston, Texas demonstration plant in late 2025. However, in May 2026, the company announced it was auctioning off its assets, indicating an operational wind-down that supersedes prior expansion signals.

Name

Windfall Bio

Legal name

Windfall Bio, Inc.

Website

https://windfall.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Windfall Bio is a climate-agtech company that converts waste methane emissions into organic fertilizer and certified carbon credits using proprietary non-GMO methanotrophic microbes housed in modular bioreactors deployed at farms, oil and gas sites, coal mines, and landfills.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biotech Environmental Services — Methane Capture and Conversion

NAICS

Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing (325311)

akta.pro primary industry

Landfill Gas (LFG) Collection & RNG Upgrading (EUAAAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) & Biogas/RNG Production (Organics Feedstocks) (BPALAEAC), Digestate Processing, Nutrient Recovery & Fertilizer Products (Struvite, Ammonia, Compost) (EUAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Methane capture biotechnology
• Organic fertilizer production
• Microbial carbon conversion
• Bioreactor methane treatment
• Carbon credit generation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. FOUNDATION Organic Fertilizer Sales: Sale of OMRI-listed, LGMA-compliant organic fertilizer produced from methane-consuming microbes. Fertilizer can be used on-site by customers or sold commercially through offtake agreements. Windfall manages distribution and offtake.
2. Certified Carbon Credits: Real-time monitoring verifies methane destruction and enables generation of verified carbon credits that can be monetized. Provides additional revenue stream alongside fertilizer sales.
3. Biocover Material Sales: Biomass produced through methane oxidation can be used as landfill biocover material, eliminating outsourcing costs for waste management operators.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Windfall Bio sells a nature-based methane conversion platform that uses proprietary non-GMO methane-consuming microbes ("mems") housed in modular bioreactor systems to capture and convert waste methane emissions from farms, oil & gas operations, coal mines, and landfills into FOUNDATION™ organic fertilizer and verified carbon credits. The company deploys industry-specific bioreactor configurations (Trickling Bioreactor for agriculture, Modular Bioreactors for oil & gas and coal mining, Biocover for landfills) and sells the resulting fertilizer under offtake agreements.

Product overview

Windfall Bio offers a nature-based methane-to-value platform that converts waste methane emissions into two revenue streams: FOUNDATION™ organic fertilizer and certified carbon credits. The core technology uses proprietary non-GMO methane-consuming microbes ('mems') housed in modular bioreactor systems. The platform is designed for industrial scale across four target industries: Agriculture (Trickling Bioreactor for farms), Oil & Gas (Modular Bioreactor for flares/wellheads), Coal Mining (VAM/CMM Bioreactor for ventilation shafts), and Waste Management (Biocover and bioreactor systems for landfills). The company also offers carbon credits as a monetization pathway alongside fertilizer sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FOUNDATION: Organic fertilizer product made from microbes consuming waste methane, producing nitrogen-rich biomass with agronomic value. OMRI-listed, LGMA compliant, with 10% nitrogen content.

Products and services

• FOUNDATION™ Organic Fertilizer Nitrogen-rich organic fertilizer (10% nitrogen) produced by Windfall Bio's proprietary methane-consuming microbes ("mems"). OMRI-listed, LGMA compliant, carbon-negative, safe for organic and conventional farms. Proven in field trials to increase romaine lettuce yields by 23-34% versus conventional feather meal and to perform on par with premium soy hydrolysates. Sold to customers for on-site use or commercially through offtake agreements that Windfall manages.
• Trickling Bioreactor (TBR) for Agriculture Modular bioreactor system designed for agricultural operations that integrates with existing manure management and biogas systems. Captures methane from manure lagoons and converts it into FOUNDATION organic fertilizer via the mems microbial consortium. Operational in ambient temperatures from -20°F to 120°F.
• Modular Bioreactor System for Oil & Gas Scalable bioreactor technology deployed at oil & gas operations to convert stranded, flared, or associated methane at wellheads into organic fertilizer and verified carbon credits. Handles methane concentrations from 1-5% (dilute) to 40-60% (concentrated flare gas) without requiring pipeline integration. Modular units can be deployed individually or in multi-reactor configurations.
• VAM/CMM Bioreactor System for Coal Mining Bioreactor system designed for coal mining operations that processes Ventilation Air Methane (VAM, 0.2-1%) and Coal Mine Methane (CMM, 40-60%). Integrates with existing mine ventilation and degasification infrastructure. The fertilizer output can be applied on-site for land reclamation. Tolerant of CO2, H2S, and hydrocarbon contaminants.
• Biocover System for Landfills Surface treatment system that neutralizes fugitive emissions escaping from landfill caps via microbial oxidation of methane, directly improving air quality and reducing community odor concerns. The methane-oxidation biomass can be deployed as biocover material, eliminating outsourced biocover procurement costs for waste management operators.
• Certified Carbon Credits Verified carbon credits generated from certified methane destruction via Windfall Bio's AI-driven real-time MRV monitoring platform. Each credit is backed by audited documentation of methane capture and conversion, enabling compliance reporting and carbon market monetization alongside fertilizer revenue.

Quantifiable outcome

• 23-34% yield increase in romaine lettuce compared to conventional feather meal
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, supporting and advisory.

• Whole Foods MarketmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhole Foods Market collaborating with Windfall Bio to accelerate carbon-reduction efforts across supply chain. Caitlin Leibert, VP of Sustainability, quoted supporting partnership to build resilient food system.
• StrausmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic dairy company deploying Windfall's technology to improve economic viability of small-scale family farms while reducing climate impact. Extremely impressive project results, evaluating further deployment throughout supplier network.
• Sunshine Canyon LandfillsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerField trial partnership with SCL LEA to tackle both landfill odor and air quality concerns using Windfall's solution.
• Ag Metrics GroupsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted independent field trial in California demonstrating FOUNDATION fertilizer increased romaine lettuce yields by 23-34% compared to conventional feather meal.
• Steven ChuadvisoryOthersNobel Prize winner and former Secretary of Energy. Serves as Board Advisor with expertise in decarbonization and climate impacts.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LanzaTech: LanzaTech uses proprietary gas-fermenting microbes to convert carbon-rich waste gases (including methane and CO from industrial sources) into fuels and chemicals. It is the most directly comparable carbon-to-value biotech, addressing similar industrial off-gas customers with a biology-based platform, and competes for the same methane abatement and Scope 1 decarbonization budgets.
• Calysta: Calysta produces FeedKind protein by fermenting methane with proprietary methanotrophs — essentially the same biological pathway Windfall Bio uses. Notably, Windfall's CEO Josh Silverman was previously Calysta's Founder & CTO, making this a direct technological and competitive analog in the methanotroph-to-product space.
• String Bio: String Bio converts methane and other waste gases into high-value proteins and chemicals using synthetic biology, including methanotrophic platforms. It is a closely comparable biotech pursuing methane-to-product commercialization across feed and industrial markets.
• Newlight Technologies: Newlight uses microorganisms that consume greenhouse gases (methane and CO2) to produce a biodegradable material marketed as AirCarbon. Like Windfall, it commercializes a nature-based platform that converts methane emissions into a saleable end product, addressing similar corporate carbon-reduction buyers.
• Mango Materials: Mango Materials ferments biogas (methane-rich) into PHA bioplastics using microbial consortia, monetizing methane waste streams as a saleable product. It is comparable as a methane-to-product biotech targeting waste-management and industrial off-gas sources.
• Electrochaea: Electrochaea uses methanotrophic archaea to convert captured CO2 and renewable electricity into pipeline-grade renewable natural gas. It competes in the methane-utilization biotech space with a comparable biological pathway and similar industrial-gas customers.
• Cambrian Innovation: Cambrian Innovation deploys bioelectric and anaerobic digestion systems at wastewater and food-processing sites to convert waste streams into energy and water-reuse products. It addresses the same agricultural/waste-management methane abatement buyers as Windfall.

Broad incumbents

• Aemetis: Aemetis is a renewable fuels and biogas/RNG producer operating at commercial scale, producing low-carbon fuels from agricultural and methane feedstocks. It competes with Windfall in the methane-to-value space but at much larger industrial scale and with conventional gas upgrading rather than microbial consortia.
• Brightmark Energy: Brightmark Energy develops and operates biogas-to-RNG and plastics-to-fuel projects, including dairy methane capture at farm scale. It targets the same dairy/livestock methane customers but uses conventional anaerobic digestion and gas upgrading rather than a microbial fertilizer platform.

Others

• C-Quest Capital: C-Quest Capital finances and develops carbon credit projects from methane abatement (coal mine, landfill, agricultural). It is adjacent to Windfall as a buyer/aggregator of the carbon credits Windfall generates, and competes indirectly in methane-abatement project development.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WindfallBio
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors16 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Windfall Bio