Solis Agrosciences
Solis Agrosciences is a St. Louis-based fee-for-service contract research organization providing plant transformation, CRISPR-based gene editing, and genomic sequencing to AgTech startups, multinational agriculture companies, and academic research programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersSt Louis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Solis Agrosciences does
Solis Agrosciences is a St. Louis-based contract research organization that provides fee-for-service plant transformation, gene editing, and genomic sequencing to agricultural biotechnology companies. Founded in May 2022 by BioGenerator Ventures alongside Martha Schlicher, Mary Fernandes, and David Smoller, the company operates from a 30+ person team out of the 39 North AgTech Innovation District in St. Louis, Missouri. Its service menu spans Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, CRISPR-based gene editing under license to Pairwise's Fulcrum Platform (including the SHARC enzyme, base editing, and REDRAW templated editing), controlled-environment plant growth, molecular and phenotypic assays, whole-genome and skim sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis, with documented capability across more than 30 plant species including soybean, corn, tomato, Arabidopsis, petunia, and tobacco.
The company's integrated 'Plant Pipeline as a Service' model is designed to take customers from construct design through greenhouse grow-out and seed delivery, including regulatory strategy handoffs. Solis acquired Ferris Genomics in November 2024 to layer sequencing and bioinformatics onto its transformation core, and licensed the Pairwise Fulcrum Platform in June 2024 to add proprietary CRISPR capabilities. Customers include venture-backed AgTech startups such as Amfora, ZeaKal, genXtraits, Quercus Biosolutions, and Harpe Bioherbicide, as well as larger counterparties including Ginkgo Bioworks and Pairwise, plus academic users such as Breeding Insight at Cornell University.
Solis generates revenue through project-based professional services contracts with milestone, retainer, and progress payment structures, and bills on 30-day payment terms per individual Service Documents. The company is privately held and venture-backed, with BioGenerator Ventures, Hermann Companies, Jim McKelvey's Saloniki Investments, Cultivation Capital (Series A lead, February 2025), QRM Capital, and several Missouri-based investors on the cap table. Distribution is direct enterprise and startup field sales out of St. Louis, with no disclosed international footprint.
Solis Agrosciences firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Solis Agrosciences
- Legal name
- Solis Agrosciences Inc.
- Website
- https://solisagrosciences.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Solis Agrosciences is a St. Louis-based fee-for-service contract research organization providing plant transformation, CRISPR-based gene editing, and genomic sequencing to AgTech startups, multinational agriculture companies, and academic research programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Solis Agrosciences industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Biotechnology R&D Services
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Agricultural Services (700), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Yield Optimization & Crop Performance Consulting (AFACABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Plant Tissue, Soil & Water Sampling Coordination (Agronomy-Focused) (AFACABAH), Soil Health & Regenerative Agronomy Consulting (AFACABAA)
Keywords
Where Solis Agrosciences is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- St Louis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Solis Agrosciences business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Fee-for-Service R&D Services: Professional services billed on a project basis with detailed pricing and payment schedules set forth in Service Documents. Payment structures may include up-front payments, retainers, progress payments, and milestone payments. Payment due within 30 days of invoice.
- Custom Research Solutions: Individually tailored research solutions for startup and corporate customers, providing end-to-end services for crop improvement including plant transformation, gene editing, and genomic sequencing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based professional services with custom pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Solis Agrosciences product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Solis Agrosciences is a contract research organization that provides fee-for-service R&D crop development services to agricultural technology companies. Its core offerings include plant transformation (Agrobacterium-mediated), CRISPR-based gene editing via a license to the Pairwise Fulcrum Platform, and genomic sequencing and bioinformatics (acquired through Ferris Genomics). Services span construct design through greenhouse grow-out and seed delivery, with integrated regulatory guidance to support commercialization of gene-edited crops.
Product overview
Solis Agrosciences is an AgTech research services company offering a comprehensive suite of fee-for-service solutions for plant science companies. The core offering centers on Plant Transformation Services and Plant Gene Editing Services, powered by a license to the Pairwise Fulcrum™ Platform. Sequencing Services (acquired through Ferris Genomics) and Bioinformatic Analysis Services provide end-to-end genomics capabilities. These are supported by Controlled Environment Plant Growth Services, Plant Assay Services, and Regulatory Guidance Services. The integrated Plant Pipeline as a Service™ model delivers end-to-end trait development from construct design through seed delivery for crops including soybean, corn, tomato, Arabidopsis, petunia, and tobacco.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Plant Transformation Services Fee-for-service plant transformation using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation to generate transgenic plants, with established pipelines in soybean, corn, tomato, Arabidopsis, petunia, and tobacco and experience across more than 30 plant species. For AgTech startups and multinational agriculture companies developing new crop traits.
- Plant Gene Editing Services Full-service CRISPR-based gene editing platform leveraging the licensed Pairwise Fulcrum Platform, including SHARC enzyme, base editing, and REDRAW templated editing, with guide RNA design and validation and propagation of gene-edited plants delivering transgene-free T2 homozygous seed. For AgTech companies developing gene-edited crop traits.
- Sequencing Services High-quality, customizable sequencing services including DNA extraction, whole genome sequencing (150bp paired-end short-read), skim sequencing (low pass ~1x coverage), and hybrid capture sequencing for trait discovery, genotyping, and genomic analysis. For agricultural breeding programs and genomics researchers.
- Bioinformatic Analysis Services Comprehensive data analysis services including custom imputation panels, standard output files (FASTQ, BAM, VCF, imputed VCF), trait discovery tools (GWAS, QTL mapping, BSA), and population analysis (PCA and kinship analysis). For breeding programs and genomic researchers.
- Controlled Environment Plant Growth Services State-of-the-art greenhouse and controlled-environment plant growth services supporting crossing, grow-out, phenotyping, tissue sampling, seed harvest, processing, and storage with internal stewardship programs for plant product integrity. For AgTech companies running plant transformation and gene editing projects.
- Plant Assay Services Comprehensive plant assay capabilities including transient cell and tissue-based assays (protoplast, viability, reporter assays, localization), molecular assays (copy number, zygosity, genotyping, gene expression), and plant phenotypic and physiological assays. For AgTech companies validating gene-edited and transgenic plants.
- Regulatory Guidance Services Strategic regulatory consulting integrated into Solis' project approach to streamline the path to commercialization, with connections to trusted regulatory experts for compliance support on gene-edited and transgenic crops. For AgTech companies pursuing USDA determinations and commercial release.
- Plant Pipeline as a Service Integrated service model combining plant transformation, gene editing, molecular characterization, greenhouse grow-out, and phenotyping into end-to-end trait development from construct design through seed delivery. For AgTech customers seeking full lifecycle outsourcing of crop trait R&D.
Quantifiable outcome
- Delivered T2 seed across 14 confirmed single copy events within 15 months of project initiation
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Solis Agrosciences
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Solis Agrosciences technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Solis Agrosciences partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Quercus BiosolutionscoreStrategic partnership established to advance novel crop protection products. Solis enables a seamless pipeline for testing, data generation, optimization, and validation of novel bio-based crop protection solutions designed by Quercus using generative AI.
- genXtraits Inc.coreCollaboration agreement under which Solis conducts R&D services for genXtraits to accelerate novel crop variety development programs including cell-based studies and gene-edited plants carrying advantaged traits.
- Ferris GenomicscoreAcquisition of Ferris Genomics sequencing and bioinformatics platform in November 2024. Platform includes whole-genome sequencing, skim sequencing, imputation, and customized development of genomics-driven breeding programs. Key Ferris employees joined the Solis team.
- PairwisecoreFull technology license to Pairwise's proprietary Fulcrum Platform including SHARC enzyme, base editing, and REDRAW templated editing. Pairwise is pioneering CRISPR technology in food and agriculture.
- Harpe Bioherbicide SolutionsminorCollaboration to accelerate development of Harpe's herbicide tolerant crop systems using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Solis Agrosciences competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pairwise: CRISPR-based gene editing company for food and agriculture. Comparable to Solis because it both develops and licenses the same Fulcrum Platform technology (SHARC, base editing, REDRAW) that Solis offers as a service, and could itself compete in the plant CRO space.
- Inari Agriculture: Seed technology company using gene editing and predictive design for crop improvement. Comparable to Solis because it operates in the same AgTech gene-editing/transformation ecosystem; Solis' COO Susan Martino-Catt previously worked at Inari, indicating direct labor-market and capability overlap.
- Tropic Biosciences: AgTech company applying gene editing to crop traits in banana, coffee, and rice. Comparable to Solis because it sits at the same intersection of CRISPR/gene editing and crop development services for trait innovation, and competes for similar AgTech investor and customer mindshare.
- Cibus: Gene editing company for agricultural traits using its RTDS technology platform. Comparable to Solis because it operates in plant gene editing for trait development with similar end customers (seed companies, AgTech startups) and overlapping scientific talent.
Broad incumbents
- Benson Hill: Publicly traded crop improvement and food innovation company combining genomics, AI, and plant breeding. Comparable to Solis because multiple Solis team members (Susan Martino-Catt, Gina Neumann) came from Benson Hill's plant transformation and gene editing functions, and Benson Hill operates an adjacent services/crop R&D model at larger scale.
- Eurofins Genomics: Large global genomics and bioscience services provider. Comparable to Solis because it offers sequencing, genotyping, and bioinformatics services that directly overlap with the Ferris Genomics-acquired capabilities, but at much greater scale and global footprint.
- Ginkgo Bioworks: Large-scale cell engineering and synthetic biology platform serving agricultural and industrial customers. Comparable to Solis because it is both a listed customer/partner of Solis and a broader organism engineering CRO with overlapping agricultural applications.
Emerging players
- HudsonAlpha Discovery: Genomics and bioinformatics services company offering sequencing, variant detection, and computational biology. Comparable to Solis because it competes for sequencing and bioinformatics service contracts from agricultural and academic customers similar to Breeding Insight (Cornell).
- NewLeaf Symbiotics: AgTech company developing biological products for crop production using microbial technology. Comparable to Solis as a fellow St. Louis-based AgTech company serving similar agricultural customers, though focused on biologicals rather than gene editing.
Others
- Revivicor (United Therapeutics): Gene editing and xenotransplantation company that has utilized similar CRISPR and cell engineering infrastructure. Comparable as an adjacent gene editing ecosystem participant, though operating in animal/medical applications rather than crops — relevant for talent and technology adjacency.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Solis Agrosciences social profiles
Digital presenceSolis Agrosciences financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Solis Agrosciences leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Solis Agrosciences subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Solis Agrosciences funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds11 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Solis Agrosciences M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Solis Agrosciences
What does Solis Agrosciences do?
Solis Agrosciences is a contract research organization that provides fee-for-service R&D crop development services to agricultural technology companies. Its core offerings include plant transformation (Agrobacterium-mediated), CRISPR-based gene editing via a license to the Pairwise Fulcrum Platform, and genomic sequencing and bioinformatics (acquired through Ferris Genomics). Services span construct design through greenhouse grow-out and seed delivery, with integrated regulatory guidance to support commercialization of gene-edited crops.
Is Solis Agrosciences a public or private company?
Solis Agrosciences is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Solis Agrosciences founded?
Solis Agrosciences was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Solis Agrosciences based?
Solis Agrosciences is headquartered in St Louis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Solis Agrosciences make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fee-for-Service R&D Services are the primary driver. The others are custom Research Solutions.
Who are Solis Agrosciences's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pairwise, Inari Agriculture, Tropic Biosciences and Cibus. Broad incumbents are Benson Hill, Eurofins Genomics and Ginkgo Bioworks. Emerging players are HudsonAlpha Discovery and NewLeaf Symbiotics. Revivicor (United Therapeutics) is listed as an others.
Does Solis Agrosciences have an API?
No public API is recorded for Solis Agrosciences.
What industry is Solis Agrosciences in?
Solis Agrosciences's product category is Agricultural Biotechnology R&D Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFACABAC, Yield Optimization & Crop Performance Consulting, with a secondary code of AFACABAH, Plant Tissue, Soil & Water Sampling Coordination (Agronomy-Focused). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.