Soil Culture Solutions

What Soil Culture Solutions does

Soil Culture Solutions, doing business at soilcea.com, is a Florida-based agricultural biotechnology company founded in 2014 that develops CRISPR-edited citrus trees. The company's core technology applies CRISPR gene editing to citrus germplasm, and its current commercial posture is best characterized as pre-revenue and research-stage, with no disclosed products, pricing, or customers. Its principal near-term milestone is a pending petition to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for nonregulated status of genetically engineered products, with public comments due in April 2026.

The company's business model to date has been funded almost entirely by non-dilutive research grants and a small equity raise. It has received two National Science Foundation awards totaling approximately $1.22 million (in 2019 and 2021), an additional $250,000 of undisclosed-origin funding in 2018, and $500,008 sold as of February 2024 against a $999,999 SEC Form D exempt offering target. The legal entity, Soil Culture Solutions, LLC, is domiciled in Florida with a headcount of 1–10 employees, and the only disclosed executive is co-founder and CEO Yianni Lagos. No go-to-market motion, distribution channels, or commercial customers are disclosed.

The company's strategic posture centers on regulatory engagement rather than near-term sales. The APHIS petition places it alongside USDA Agricultural Research Service and major agribusinesses (Bayer Crop Science, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Syngenta Seeds, and Ball Horticultural Company) in concurrent filings for nonregulated status of genetically engineered products. While these concurrent filings indicate shared regulatory activity rather than confirmed commercial partnerships, they situate Soil Culture Solutions within the federal regulatory pathway that, if successful, would enable future commercialization of its CRISPR-edited citrus lines.

Name

Soil Culture Solutions

Legal name

Soil Culture Solutions, LLC

Website

https://soilcea.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Soil Culture Solutions is a Florida-based agricultural biotech founded in 2014 that develops CRISPR-edited citrus trees and is pursuing USDA APHIS nonregulated status as a pre-revenue, research-stage company.

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

Biotechnology & Gene-Edited Trait Development (AFAGAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Transformation & Tissue Culture Platforms (Plant regeneration, delivery systems) (AFABALAH)

Keywords

• CRISPR citrus trees
• Agricultural biotechnology
• Plant genetic engineering
• Citrus disease resistance
• Crop gene editing

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Core offering

Soil Culture Solutions is an agricultural biotechnology company that develops CRISPR-edited citrus trees. The company engineers genetic modifications into citrus varieties intended to address agricultural challenges, and is pursuing USDA APHIS regulatory approval for nonregulated status of its genetically engineered products to enable future commercial deployment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CRISPR-edited citrus trees Genetically engineered citrus trees developed using CRISPR gene-editing technology, intended for commercial citrus growers and nurseries seeking improved, disease-resistant citrus varieties.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record.

• USDA Agricultural Research ServiceOthersBoth Soil Culture Solutions and USDA Agricultural Research Service submitted petitions to APHIS for nonregulated status of genetically engineered products. This represents regulatory engagement with government agricultural research bodies.
• Ball Horticultural CompanyOthersBoth companies submitted concurrent petitions to APHIS for nonregulated status of genetically engineered products in the agricultural/biotech sector.
• Pioneer Hi-Bred InternationalOthersBoth companies submitted concurrent petitions to APHIS for nonregulated status of genetically engineered products in the agricultural/biotech sector.
• Syngenta Seeds, LLCOthersBoth companies submitted concurrent petitions to APHIS for nonregulated status of genetically engineered products in the agricultural/biotech sector.
• Bayer U.S.-Crop ScienceOthersBoth companies submitted concurrent petitions to APHIS for nonregulated status of genetically engineered products in the agricultural/biotech sector.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tropic Biosciences: UK-based agricultural biotech using gene editing (including CRISPR) to improve tropical crops such as banana and coffee. Directly comparable as a small, science-driven GE crop company pursuing regulatory clearance and licensing for specialty crop traits.
• Pairwise: U.S. agricultural biotech applying CRISPR to specialty crops, with a focus on fruit genetics and consumer-facing plant products. Comparable in its use of gene editing for tree/fruit crops and pursuit of APHIS deregulation pathways.
• Inari Agriculture: Seed design company using gene editing and predictive design to develop crops with improved yields and resource use. Comparable as a venture-backed ag-biotech pursuing proprietary edited seed for major crops with regulatory pathways through USDA.
• Cibus: Gene-editing ag company developing traits in crops using its RTDS technology, with active USDA regulatory engagements for edited plant material. Comparable as a specialty gene-editing firm pursuing nonregulated status for edited crop traits.

Emerging players

• Benson Hill: Crop improvement company combining genomics and plant breeding, with prior APHIS engagements on GE plant material. Comparable as a public-ag-adjacent biotech developing improved seed/grain genetics.
• Yield10 Bioscience: Small agricultural biotech developing performance traits in crops using genetic engineering approaches, including USDA regulatory engagement. Comparable as a small-cap, pre-commercial plant-trait biotech with similar regulatory dynamics.
• Arcadia Biosciences: Agricultural trait development company focused on specialty crop quality, productivity, and sustainability. Comparable as a smaller ag-biotech developing regulated plant traits with USDA interactions.
• Elo Life Systems: Food and ingredient biotech developing improved crop varieties through genomics and breeding. Comparable as a smaller-scale ag-biotech developing improved plant varieties for specialty crop applications.

Broad incumbents

• Bayer U.S. - Crop Science: Major agricultural input company with a large seed and trait portfolio that has filed APHIS petitions on GE plant material. Comparable as a co-filer on the same APHIS petition cohort and as a benchmark for what scaled commercialization of edited traits looks like.
• Syngenta Seeds: Global seed and trait company with active USDA regulatory engagement on genetically engineered plant material. Comparable as a co-filer on APHIS petitions and as the type of incumbent partner or acquirer Soil Culture may ultimately work with.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soilcea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors1 record

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 Soil Culture Solutions