AgraQuest

What AgraQuest does

AgraQuest is a privately held biotechnology company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Davis, California, that develops biological pest control, disease control, and yield-enhancing products. The company operates across three end-markets: agricultural production, home and garden, and food safety. Its core technology platform is built around Trichoderma-based biocontrol agents — fungal strains that provide pest management and plant-growth-promotion functions as alternatives to chemical pesticides and fertilizers. AgraQuest's value proposition targets growers and food industry participants seeking to reduce chemical dependency, address environmental and sustainability requirements, and adopt integrated pest management programs.

The company's commercial footprint is built on a specialty-crop biotech model rather than a broad-spectrum agrochemical approach. AgraQuest develops and presumably manufactures microbial formulations that deliver biocontrol and yield-enhancement functions across multiple application contexts. Its founding technology thesis — using beneficial microorganisms to displace or supplement chemical crop inputs — aligns with the broader sustainable agriculture trend. Investor history indicates institutional validation: AgraQuest raised approximately $57.1 million across four disclosed rounds between 2003 and 2011 from investors including Generation Investment Management, Loudwater Investment Partners, TPG Growth, Swiss Re, Otter Capital, Rockefeller Capital Management, SAM Private Equity, Sustainable Performance Group, JSS Management, and Vivo Capital. The company is led by founder Pam Marrone and chaired by John Pasquesi.

Revenue mechanics, pricing model, distribution channel structure, and current financial performance are not disclosed in the available source material. The company is reported to have 51–100 employees and is positioned within the global Trichoderma viride market, which is projected to expand from $12.77 billion in 2025 to $29.29 billion in 2033 at a 10.93% CAGR — providing a substantial tailwind for biological pest control participants. The absence of post-March 2011 funding events in the dataset is notable but does not by itself indicate an exit or operational change.

Name

AgraQuest

Website

https://agraquest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

AgraQuest is a Davis, California-based biotechnology company that develops Trichoderma-based biological pest control, disease control, and yield-enhancing products for agricultural, home and garden, and food safety markets, targeting growers seeking sustainable alternatives to chemical pesticides.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Biologicals / Biopesticides

NAICS

Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (32532), Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (325320), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Biological Pest Control (Beneficial Insects, Nematodes, Microbials) (AFABAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Microbial/Biological Control (Beneficial Bacteria/Fungi/Viruses) (HSAMALAB)

Keywords

• Biological pest control
• Agricultural biocontrol products
• Trichoderma-based pesticides
• Sustainable crop protection
• Biopesticide manufacturing

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

Core offering

AgraQuest develops and manufactures biological pest control, disease control, and yield-enhancing products using proprietary Trichoderma-based biocontrol technology. The company's products serve the agricultural, home and garden, and food safety markets, offering sustainable alternatives to chemical pesticides and fertilizers that reduce environmental dependency on synthetic crop inputs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Biological pest control products Biological pest control products based on Trichoderma-based biocontrol technology designed for farmers, agricultural producers, and home and garden users seeking sustainable alternatives to chemical pesticides. The products deliver pest management with reduced environmental dependency on synthetic chemical inputs.
• Biological disease control products Biological disease control products that complement the company's pest control portfolio, providing farmers and agricultural producers with sustainable disease management solutions that reduce reliance on chemical fungicides and protect crop health.
• Yield-enhancing biological products Yield-enhancing biological products leveraging plant growth promotion properties of AgraQuest's biological agents. These products target farmers and agricultural producers seeking to improve crop productivity while reducing fertilizer inputs through biological mechanisms.

Quantifiable outcome

• CAGR of 10.93% projected for biological pest control market

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bayer Crop Science: The crop-protection arm of Bayer, offering a broad portfolio of seeds, traits, and crop protection products that overlaps with AgraQuest's biocontrol and pest management offerings at a much larger scale.
• Syngenta: Major global agrochemical and seed company with a growing biologicals portfolio that competes with AgraQuest in integrated pest management solutions.
• Corteva Agriscience: Global agriculture company offering seeds, crop protection, and digital tools with an expanding biologicals platform that overlaps with AgraQuest's biocontrol products.
• FMC Corporation: Global agricultural sciences company with a significant crop protection portfolio and growing biologicals presence, competing with AgraQuest in pest and disease management.
• BASF Agricultural Solutions: One of the largest global agrochemical players with an increasingly diversified biological and biocontrol portfolio that competes with AgraQuest in sustainable crop protection.

Direct peers

• Marrone Bio Innovations (now ProFarm Group): Founded by AgraQuest's own founder Pam Marrone, Marrone Bio is the most direct comparable — a US biologicals company selling microbial biopesticides and plant health products into agriculture.
• Certis Biologicals: Specializes in biological crop protection products including microbial and biochemical pesticides, directly competing with AgraQuest in agricultural biocontrol.
• Valent BioSciences: A global leader in biorational products (including microbial pest control agents), closely comparable to AgraQuest's Trichoderma-based biocontrol portfolio across agriculture and public health.
• BioWorks: Smaller, focused biological crop protection company selling microbial insecticides and fungicides directly comparable to AgraQuest's biocontrol portfolio.

Emerging players

• Novonesis (formerly Novozymes): Global biotech company with a BioAg segment producing microbial solutions for crop health and pest management, sharing the same microbial-pesticide category as AgraQuest.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Bayer4CropsUS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agraquest-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors11 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 AgraQuest