Cibus

What Cibus does

Cibus Inc. (NASDAQ: CBUS) is a San Diego-based agricultural biotechnology company founded in 2000 (originally as ValiGen) that develops precision gene-edited plant traits using its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) and Trait Machine platform. The company's core technical differentiator is non-transgenic gene editing—making precise edits to a plant's own DNA without introducing foreign genes—which causes its products to be regulated like conventionally bred crops rather than transgenic GMOs. Cibus operates through two product lines: Stronger Seeds, comprising herbicide tolerance, pod shatter reduction, disease resistance, and nematode resistance traits across rice, canola, soybean, and wheat; and Sustainable Ingredients, including biofragrances and crop-based oils developed using its proprietary gene editing technology.

Cibus monetizes primarily through a B2B royalty-based licensing model, charging seed companies $5-$30 per acre in trait fees tied to farmer cost savings. Its distribution is built on partnerships with major global and regional seed companies including Bayer, Nutrien, Nuseed, GDM, Interoc, FLAR, Fedearroz, Semillano, and Albaugh, who commercialize enhanced seeds through their existing farmer-facing networks. The Sustainable Ingredients line operates as a direct B2B sales channel into fragrance, food, flavor, and personal care markets, generating its first customer payment in Q4 2025. The company has approximately 251-500 employees and offices in San Diego, New York, and a Roseville, Minnesota R&D facility being wound down.

Cibus's commercial trajectory remains pre-revenue at scale: main royalty revenue from rice herbicide tolerance is targeted for 2027 (Latin America) and 2029 (United States). The company is funded by a series of post-IPO public offerings that have raised over $130 million since December 2023, supported by a cash balance of approximately $29.7 million as of Q4 2025 and a market capitalization near $98 million. Recent strategic milestones include the June 2026 EU decision classifying gene-edited crops as equivalent to conventionally bred crops, leadership transition to new CEO Craig Wichner (June 2026), and the wind-down of the Roseville, Minnesota facility with a $9.1 million Q4 2025 impairment charge.

Name

Cibus

Legal name

Cibus Inc.

Website

https://cibus.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cibus is a San Diego-based agricultural biotechnology company that develops non-transgenic, precision gene-edited plant traits using its proprietary RTDS and Trait Machine platforms, licensing them royalty-based to major global seed companies across rice, canola, soybean, and wheat.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Biotechnology

NAICS

Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (32532)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Gene Editing Trait Development (CRISPR/TALEN/ZFN) (AFABALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biotechnology & Gene-Edited Trait Development (AFAGAIAG), Seed Trait Licensing & IP Management (Licensing, freedom-to-operate) (AFABALAJ)

Keywords

• Plant trait licensing
• Gene editing agriculture
• Agricultural biotechnology
• Precision plant breeding
• Non-transgenic traits

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Trait Licensing Royalties: Cibus licenses its advanced gene-edited plant traits to leading seed companies worldwide in exchange for royalty payments. This is a recurring royalty-driven model where trait fees are commensurate with cost savings realized by farmers, ranging from $5 per acre to $30 per acre depending on the trait and crop. The model targets over $200 million in potential annual royalty revenue from rice herbicide tolerance traits alone.
2. Sustainable Ingredients: Revenue from developing and supplying sustainable natural ingredient products created using proprietary technology, including biofragrances and crop-based oils. The company received its first Sustainable Ingredients customer payment in Q4 2025.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cibus develops and licenses precision gene-edited plant traits to global seed companies using its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) and Trait Machine, which enable non-transgenic edits to a plant's own DNA in months rather than years. Its Stronger Seeds product line delivers herbicide tolerance, pod shatter reduction, and disease resistance traits across rice, canola, soybean, and wheat. The company also produces sustainable bio-based ingredients such as natural rose oil for fragrance and industrial applications, with first customer revenue recognized in Q4 2025.

Product overview

Cibus is a biotechnology company that develops and licenses advanced plant traits to seed companies through two integrated product lines: Stronger Seeds (productivity traits for rice, canola, soybean, and wheat) and Sustainable Ingredients. The core technology platform consists of the Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) and the Trait Machine, which together enable precision gene editing without introducing foreign DNA. The product portfolio includes herbicide tolerance traits (HT1/HT3 for rice, HT2 for canola), pod shatter reduction for canola, disease resistance traits across multiple crops, nematode resistance for soybean, and nutrient use efficiency traits. Traits are delivered via royalty-bearing licenses to seed company partners, with commercial launches targeted beginning in 2027 for Latin America rice markets and expanding to the US by 2029.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Trait Machine: A stand-alone semi-automated end-to-end precision breeding system that is time-bound and predictable, developed using the RTDS technology.
• Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS)
• Cibus Powered

Products and services

• Rice Herbicide Tolerance Traits (HT1 and HT3) Gene-edited herbicide tolerance traits for rice that enable effective weed control with reduced chemical use, supporting long-term herbicide resistance strategies and improving grower profitability. Targeted at over 69.5 million acres of rice.
• Canola Pod Shatter Reduction Cibus Powered trait product for canola/oilseed rape that reduces yield losses by resisting pod shatter and impacts from harsh weather, improving harvest flexibility and crop management while lowering CO2 emissions.
• Canola Herbicide Tolerance (HT2) Second-generation herbicide resistance trait developed for canola, enabling effective weed management for growers.
• Canola Disease Resistance Gene-edited trait for Sclerotinia (white mold) resistance in canola and winter oilseed rape.
• Soybean Traits Family of gene-edited traits for soybean including herbicide tolerance, disease resistance, and nematode resistance, developed in collaboration with partner GDM across approximately 250 million acres of the North and South American soybean market.
• Wheat Traits Family of gene-edited traits for wheat focusing on disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, and nutrient use efficiency, targeting the approximately 135-million-acre global wheat market.
• Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) Proprietary technology suite that enables development of specific plant qualities in just months through precision gene editing, making edits to a plant's own genes without adding foreign DNA.
• Trait Machine Stand-alone semi-automated end-to-end precision breeding system that enables time-bound and predictable production of gene-edited traits, allowing partners to specify desired crop improvements with delivery within months.
• Sustainable Ingredients Bio-based products including natural rose oil and other sustainable ingredient replacements for synthetic or high-cost ingredients, created using proprietary gene editing technology to provide lower carbon footprint alternatives for fragrance, food, flavor, and personal care markets.

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• John Innes CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2026Cibus was selected as key technology partner in the UK Government-funded LLS-ERASED project to develop gene-edited resistance to Light Leaf Spot disease in oilseed rape. The project is part of Defra's Farming Innovation Programme with £21.5m in funding across 15 innovation projects. If successful, this would deliver the first precision-bred oilseed rape varieties to UK growers under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023.
• University of HertfordshirecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2026Academic partner in the LLS-ERASED project consortium alongside John Innes Centre and 12 industry and academic partners, working on precision breeding of disease-resistant oilseed rape varieties.
• AgVayācoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2025Partnership to develop and introduce gene editing technologies into India's rice seed industry to enhance crop productivity and resilience. Collaboration aims to accelerate breeding timelines, reduce pesticide dependence, and foster innovation for India's rice industry.
• InteroccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Strategic partnership for Latin American rice market. Material transfer agreement established in January 2024. Non-binding Letter of Intent signed for commercialization of herbicide-tolerant rice traits across Latin America, with planned market entry in Ecuador and Colombia in 2027, expanding to Peru, Central America, and Caribbean. Interoc received gene-edited herbicide tolerance materials in May 2026 for testing and production.
• GDMcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for soybean gene-edited trait development. GDM is collaborating with Cibus for development of herbicide tolerance trait and follow-on disease resistance trait similar to canola pipeline, as well as future nematode resistance traits.
• NutriencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor agricultural seed company partner receiving gene-edited plant traits for commercialization through their global seed distribution network.
• NuseedcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor agricultural seed company partner receiving gene-edited plant traits for commercialization through their global seed distribution network.
• BayercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor agricultural seed company partner receiving gene-edited plant traits for commercialization through their global seed distribution network.
• SemillanominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLatin American seed company partner receiving gene-edited plant traits for rice and other crop commercialization.
• FLARminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLatin American rice seed company partner receiving gene-edited plant traits for commercialization in regional markets.
• FedearrozminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLatin American rice seed company partner receiving gene-edited plant traits for commercialization in regional markets.
• AlbaughminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgricultural partner receiving gene-edited plant traits for commercial development and distribution.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pairwise: CRISPR-based gene-editing company developing improved seeds and fruits for agriculture. Most directly comparable to Cibus: same non-transgenic CRISPR approach, B2B licensing model, and focus on row-crop and specialty crop traits with major seed/food partners.
• Inari Agriculture: Seed-design company using multiplex gene editing and computational biology to improve crop yields. Highly comparable to Cibus — both apply precision gene editing to row crops and license traits to seed companies rather than selling seeds directly.
• Yield10 Bioscience: Pre-commercial agricultural biotechnology company developing gene-edited yield and input-tolerance traits in canola, soybean, and other crops. Comparable in scale, trait focus, and licensing model, though it has historically also pursued transgenic approaches.
• Benson Hill: Crop-improvement company combining genomics and plant breeding to develop soybean, yellow pea, and other crop ingredients. Comparable in applying advanced breeding/genomics to row crops, though Benson Hill is more vertically integrated into food/feed ingredient supply.

Emerging players

• Tropic Biosciences: Gene-editing company focused on tropical crops (banana, coffee) and row-crop traits; acquired by Syngenta in 2024. Comparable gene-editing methodology and licensing model, but now operating as part of a large incumbent rather than as an independent.
• BioConsortia: Microbial/agricultural biotech developing nitrogen-fixing and yield-enhancing microbial products for row crops. Adjacent — comparable in target customer (seed companies and growers) and input-outcome economics, but uses microbial rather than gene-editing approaches.

Broad incumbents

• Corteva: Global seed and crop protection major (parent of Pioneer Hi-Bred) with large proprietary CRISPR/gene-editing programs and broad row-crop seed distribution. A direct competitor and a partner overlap to Cibus, and the benchmark for incumbent distribution power in the traits Cibus is targeting.
• Bayer Crop Science: Largest global seed and crop protection business, with deep gene-editing R&D and full ownership of seed distribution channels Cibus relies on. Comparable as a buyer/competitor for non-transgenic trait licensing, and already a Cibus partner.
• Syngenta Group: Global agriscience major with a major seed business and recent acquisition of Tropic Biosciences. Comparable as a full-stack incumbent pursuing non-transgenic gene-edited traits and a potential channel partner or competitor for Cibus in row crops.
• BASF Agricultural Solutions: Global agriscience incumbent with both crop protection and a hybrid/seed business, active in gene-editing trait development. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for trait licensing relationships and seed-channel shelf space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cibus-global
• Xx.com/cibusglobal
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cibus-US-LLC-145278072197687

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds10 records

Investors3 records

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Cibus