Marrone Bio Innovations

What Marrone Bio Innovations does

Marrone Bio Innovations is a US-based agricultural biologicals company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Davis, California, that develops and commercializes naturally-derived crop protection products — biopesticides, biofungicides, and bioherbicides — as alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides. The company's core technology platforms are built around proprietary fermentation processes using naturally-occurring microorganisms and botanical extracts; following the 2019 acquisition of ProFarm Group, these capabilities were extended to include RinoTec™ Technology (for insect, mite, and nematode management) and UBP™ Technology (a patented organic molecular substrate of 16 macro and micro nutrients that enhances plant tolerance to abiotic stress such as drought and herbicide damage). The product portfolio is organized across three farmer-facing use cases: crop protection, crop nutrition, and crop health, with positioning around integrated pest management (IPM) programs that allow biologicals to be tank-mixed with or rotated alongside conventional chemistry to delay resistance and meet residue-free or organic production requirements.

The company's go-to-market targets farmers and agricultural producers as its primary customer segment, with a horizontal segmentation approach across crop types rather than vertical specialization by crop. Distribution historically ran through agricultural input distribution networks in the United States; the strategic merger of Marrone Bio with Rizobacter's operations under Bioceres Crop Solutions materially expanded that distribution footprint by integrating Marrone Bio's product portfolio with Rizobacter's established Latin American and global agricultural biologicals infrastructure, creating a combined entity with deeper portfolio breadth and geographic reach. Pricing is not publicly disclosed but follows standard ag-input per-acre or per-application unit economics consistent with branded biological alternatives to synthetic chemistry.

Marrone Bio previously operated as a NASDAQ-listed public company under ticker MBII and raised over $189M across nine disclosed funding rounds between 2007 and 2018, including a $49.2M round in 2014 and a $30M round led by agriculture-focused investor Ospraie Ag Sciences in 2018. The company has been recognized as a top US biopesticides competitor and a key player in the bioherbicides market alongside FMC Corporation and Hindustan Bio Tech, operating in a US biopesticides market projected to reach $3.8 billion by 2031. Leadership is anchored by founder Pamela Marrone and includes a CSO, CFO, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer, and SVP of R&D, indicating a science-led operating model.

Name

Marrone Bio Innovations

Website

https://marronebio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Marrone Bio Innovations, founded in 2006 and based in Davis, California, develops naturally-derived biopesticides, biofungicides, and bioherbicides for farmers and agricultural producers. Now merged with Rizobacter under Bioceres Crop Solutions, the company commercializes proprietary biological crop protection and plant health technologies globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopesticides and Biological Crop Protection

NAICS

Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (32532), Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Biostimulants & Plant Health Biologicals (Microbial/Non-microbial) (AFABAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Botanical Biopesticides & Plant Extracts (Essential Oils, Neem, Pyrethrins) (AFABAEAF), Crop Protection Chemicals (Herbicides/Insecticides/Fungicides) (IMAEAEAI)

Keywords

• Biological crop protection
• Biopesticide products
• Biofungicide solutions
• Bioherbicide technology
• Agricultural pest management

Headquarters

HQ city

Davis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Core offering

Marrone Bio Innovations develops and manufactures biological crop protection products — biopesticides, biofungicides, and bioherbicides — derived from naturally-occurring microorganisms and botanical extracts for weed, pest, and plant disease management. Its portfolio addresses crop protection, crop nutrition, and crop health, and is supported by proprietary technology platforms such as RinoTec and UBP. The company operates as part of Bioceres Crop Solutions following its merger with Rizobacter operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crop protection products (biopesticides, biofungicides, bioherbicides)
• Crop nutrition products
• Crop health products

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Rizobacter (Bioceres Crop Solutions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBioceres Crop Solutions merged Marrone Bio with Rizobacter operations to expand its biological crop protection and plant-health offerings. This strategic merger integrates Marrone Bio's product portfolio with Rizobacter's established distribution and operational infrastructure, creating a combined entity with enhanced portfolio depth and scientific differentiation in the biological crop protection sector.
• Bioceres Crop SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company Bioceres Crop Solutions executed the merger of Marrone Bio with Rizobacter operations as part of a strategic initiative to expand biological crop protection and plant health offerings, leveraging the combined capabilities of both entities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Valent BioSciences: Subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical focused on biorational products including microbial biopesticides, biofungicides, and plant growth regulators. Comparable to MBI in product category and grower customer base, with strong global presence in agricultural biologicals.
• BioWorks: Focused biological crop protection company offering biopesticides, biofungicides, and biostimulants to specialty crop growers. Comparable to MBI in target customer base (greenhouse, fruit, vegetable producers) and product positioning in IPM programs.
• Certis USA: Explicitly named as a top competitor in the US biopesticides market in source data. Certis USA develops and manufactures biological crop protection products (biopesticides, biofungicides) for conventional and organic agriculture, directly overlapping MBI's product portfolio and customer base of fruit, vegetable, and row-crop growers.
• Koppert Biological Systems: Global leader in biological crop protection including microbial products, beneficial insects, and biorational solutions for integrated pest management. Comparable product offering and grower customer base as MBI, with strong presence in European greenhouse and high-value crop markets.

Broad incumbents

• FMC Corporation: Named alongside MBI as a key player in the bioherbicides market in source data. FMC is a large diversified agrochemical incumbent with biologicals within a broader synthetic crop protection portfolio, offering overlapping bioherbicide and biopesticide capabilities with much greater scale and R&D resources.
• Bayer Crop Science: Global agrochemical and seed major with a developing biologicals franchise. Competes with MBI in crop protection products and serves overlapping growers, with significantly greater resources and distribution scale.
• BASF Agricultural Solutions: Global agrochemical incumbent with biological products (including products acquired from Becker Underwood) competing with MBI in biopesticides and seed treatment biologicals. Overlapping customer base of row crop and specialty crop growers at global scale.
• Syngenta: Global agrochemical major with a growing biologicals portfolio; Syngenta Ventures also participated in MBI's $25.4M Series C in 2011. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating in the same crop protection space with biologicals as a strategic growth area.

Emerging players

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Synthetic biology platform company with agricultural biologicals partnerships (including with Bayer and Corteva). Comparable as an emerging player developing microbial agricultural biologicals, though with a platform-based business model rather than direct product sales.

Others

• Bioceres Crop Solutions: Parent company that merged MBI with Rizobacter operations. While now MBI's corporate parent rather than a peer, Bioceres competes in adjacent biologicals spaces (including Rizobacter's microbial inoculants and biofertilizers), making it a meaningful comparison point for integrated biologicals business models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/marronebio
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors12 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 Marrone Bio Innovations