What Micropep Technologies does

Micropep Technologies is a French agricultural biotechnology company founded in 2016 as a spin-off from CNRS and Toulouse University's Laboratory of Plant Sciences (LRSV), headquartered in Auzeville-Tolosane near Toulouse with a US subsidiary in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company develops micropeptide-based biological solutions for sustainable crop protection, leveraging short natural peptides (10-30 amino acids) that regulate plant genes or proteins without modifying DNA. Its technology portfolio spans miPEPs (microRNA regulation), complementary peptides (cPEPs for enhanced protein translation), and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs that disrupt fungal membranes), all unified under the proprietary Krisalix AI-powered discovery platform that uses generative AI and machine learning to identify, optimize, and prioritize peptide candidates.

The product pipeline targets a $28 billion addressable market across American and European herbicides and fungicides, with lead biofungicide Promisin (MPD-01) demonstrating up to 75% disease control efficacy across 200+ field trials, supported by MPD-02 in disease control and MPW-01 and MPW-02 bioherbicides targeting herbicide-resistant broadleaf and grass weeds. Micropep operates a B2B asset-light business model, generating revenue through licensing, milestone payments, and royalties via co-development agreements with major crop protection multinationals, notably exclusive multi-year partnerships with FMC Corporation (bioherbicides for corn and soybeans) and Corteva Agriscience (sustainable biocontrol solutions), both of whom are also investors.

The company has raised over $60 million across multiple funding rounds from a syndicate including Supernova Invest, Sofinnova Partners, Fall Line Capital, FMC Ventures, Zebra Impact Ventures, BPI Green Tech, Corteva, and Sparkfood, and is transitioning from development to commercialization with regulatory dossiers filed in Brazil and Paraguay in 2026 and US/EU filings planned. With approximately 45 employees and a leadership team combining scientific founders from CNRS with seasoned ag-industry executives (including new CEO Georg Goeres and CBO Alexandre Frateschi, ex-BASF), Micropep is positioned as a differentiated player in the biological crop protection market leveraging AI-driven peptide discovery.

Name

Micropep Technologies

Legal name

Micropep Technologies

Website

http://micro-pep.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Micropep Technologies is a French ag-biotech developing AI-discovered micropeptide-based biofungicides and bioherbicides for sustainable crop protection, partnering with major agricultural companies FMC and Corteva for co-development and commercialization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Biologicals

NAICS

Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (32532)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Microbial Biopesticides (Bacterial, Fungal, Viral) (AFABAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Microbial Biofungicides (AFABAEAB), Microbial Bioherbicides (AFABAEAE), Biostimulants & Plant Health Biologicals (Microbial/Non-microbial) (AFABAEAK)

Keywords

• Biological crop protection
• Micropeptide technology
• Biofungicide solutions
• Bioherbicide products
• Agricultural biotechnology

Headquarters

HQ city

Ramonville-saint-agne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Active Ingredient Sales to Crop Protection Companies: Micropep develops and sells micropeptide active ingredients to the crop protection industry. The company positions itself as a provider of new sustainable active ingredients, working with partners for formulation, commercialization, and distribution. Revenue is generated through licensing agreements and supply contracts with agricultural corporations.
2. Co-development and Partnership Agreements: Strategic collaborations with companies like FMC and Corteva involve joint R&D and co-development arrangements. These partnerships likely include upfront payments, milestone payments, and ongoing royalties based on product commercialization.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Micropep Technologies develops and produces micropeptide-based biological active ingredients for crop protection, targeting fungal diseases and herbicide-resistant weeds in row and specialty crops. The company offers biofungicides (Promisin/MPD-01, MPD-02) and bioherbicides (MPW-01, MPW-02) discovered through its proprietary Krisalix AI-powered platform, which it supplies to crop protection companies through co-development agreements and licensing partnerships.

Product overview

Micropep Technologies operates as a biotech company developing micropeptide-based biological solutions for sustainable crop protection. The product portfolio centers on the proprietary Krisalix™ AI-powered discovery platform, which enables rapid identification and selection of micropeptide candidates. The disease control pipeline includes Promisin™ (MPD-01), a broad-spectrum peptide biofungicide for soybeans and grapes, and MPD-02 targeting plant immune response. The weed control pipeline includes MPW-01 and MPW-02 bioherbicides for resistant broadleaf and grass weeds respectively. Supporting technology platforms include miPEPs (gene regulation), complementary peptides (cPEPs for enhanced protein translation), and antimicrobial peptide (AMP) technology. The company operates a dual product development approach with disease control (biofungicide) and weed control (bioherbicide) as primary programs, all utilizing the integrated Krisalix platform for discovery and optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Krisalix™: Proprietary AI-powered discovery platform combining computational biology, bioproduction, and delivery technologies for discovering micropeptide solutions for crop protection
• Promisin™
• MPD-01
• MPD-02
• MPW-01
• MPW-02

Products and services

• Promisin (MPD-01) Biofungicide
• MPD-02 Biofungicide
• MPW-01 Bioherbicide
• MPW-02 Bioherbicide

Quantifiable outcome

• Disease control efficacy up to 75% with MPD-01, compared to ~50% for most bio-control competitors
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.

• AgIdeaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2024Agricultural research organization conducting independent field trials of Micropep's MPD-01 product. Director Mariano Battista provided testimonial on significant yield and quality effects in South American soybean trials.
• FMC CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Strategic collaboration to co-develop biological solutions for herbicide-resistant weeds in corn and soybeans. Under an exclusive multi-year agreement, the partnership combines Micropep's micropeptide technology with FMC's scientific and commercial capabilities to identify and develop innovative biological herbicides targeting key herbicide-resistant weeds.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• AgBiome: AgBiome develops microbial biopesticides and biofungicides for row crops and specialty crops, directly overlapping with Micropep's biological crop-protection positioning. Both companies target novel modes of action to address resistance and regulatory pressure on conventional chemistries.
• Marrone Bio Innovations (Bioceres Crop Solutions): Marrone Bio (now part of Bioceres Crop Solutions) is a leading biological crop-protection company with biofungicides, bioinsecticides and bionematicides. It is one of the closest commercial-scale comparables to Micropep's Promisin and MPD-02 biofungicide programs.
• Indigo Ag: Indigo Ag develops microbial seed treatments and foliar biologicals for row crops, sharing Micropep's strategy of displacing conventional chemistry with biologically derived, sustainable actives targeting similar row-crop growers.
• Pivot Bio: Pivot Bio produces microbial nitrogen-fixing crop inputs for corn and other row crops, an adjacent biological-inputs model with similar go-to-market through ag retailers and partnerships with majors. Comparable in scale, funding stage and biological-inputs positioning.
• NewLeaf Symbiotics: NewLeaf Symbiotics develops pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophs (PPFMs) as microbial crop inputs for yield and stress tolerance. It is a direct biologicals peer pursuing novel microbial modes of action for row-crop and specialty-crop markets.

Broad incumbents

• FMC Corporation: FMC is one of the largest crop-protection companies globally and is both Micropep's flagship bioherbicide partner (and a Series investor through FMC Ventures). It represents the broad-incumbent channel partner and benchmark for Micropep's bioherbicide economics.
• Corteva Agriscience: Corteva is a major seed and crop-protection company and Micropep's biocontrol research partner and Series B supplemental investor. As a broad incumbent, Corteva offers both a distribution channel and a competitive threat through its own biologicals pipeline.
• BASF Agricultural Solutions: BASF operates one of the largest agricultural chemical and biologicals portfolios globally and competes directly with Micropep's biofungicide and bioherbicide targets. It is the comparable employer background of Micropep's CBO Alexandre Frateschi.
• Syngenta Group: Syngenta is a global crop-protection and seeds leader with an expanding biologicals portfolio. It overlaps directly with Micropep's target markets in fungicides and herbicides and is the comparable employer background of board member Patricia Malarkey.

Emerging players

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo Bioworks is a platform biotech that designs and engineers microbial organisms for agriculture, industrial and other applications. While focused on microbial engineering rather than peptides, it is a thematic comparable for AI-driven biological discovery platforms targeting crop inputs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors9 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 Micropep Technologies