Heliae
Heliae (DBA PhycoTerra) is a Gilbert, Arizona ag-input company that sells proprietary microalgae-based soil amendments, seed treatments, foliar treatments, and residue management products to row-crop farmers via a dealer network and e-commerce, targeting improved soil microbiome health and crop yield.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersGilbert, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Heliae does
Heliae Development, LLC, doing business as PhycoTerra, is a Gilbert, Arizona-based agricultural technology company that produces microalgae-based inputs designed to activate dormant soil microbiomes and improve crop performance. The company's core platform centers on proprietary terrestrial microalgae formulations applied across four distinct zones of the crop lifecycle: spermatosphere (seed treatment), rhizosphere (soil amendment), phyllosphere (foliar treatment via PhycoTerra FX), and detritusphere (residue management). The product line includes PhycoTerra Soil Amendment, Seed Treatment, FX Foliar Treatment, Residue Management, and an Organic variant for certified-organic operations. Products are positioned to deliver functional benefits including improved soil water holding capacity, optimized NPK availability, mitigation of abiotic plant stress (UV, heat, moisture), and yield increases documented across corn, soybeans, wheat, canola, and potatoes.
Heliae generates revenue through product sales distributed via a three-channel go-to-market: an authorized dealer/retailer network, a direct e-commerce shop for smaller buyers, and field sales representatives managing dealer relationships and large farming operations. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the company instead publishes ROI calculators and per-crop performance data (e.g., Seed Treatment 288:1 ROI, Foliar 7:1-90:1, Soil Amendment 6:1, Organic Soil Amendment 3:1-21:1) to drive adoption. The Yield Assurance Program (FX Assurance Program) functions as a performance guarantee, reducing grower risk and acting as a competitive lever against conventional ag-inputs.
The company operates primarily in U.S. row-crop agriculture, with claimed international presence "in fields across America and the world," and supports customers through educational content (blog, whitepapers, webinars, case studies), a Grower Advisory Panel, and active social media. Founded in 2008 and commercially organized as an LLC in 2015, Heliae employs 51-100 people and is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors in the available data.
Heliae firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Heliae
- Legal name
- Heliae Development, LLC
- Website
- https://heliae.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Heliae (DBA PhycoTerra) is a Gilbert, Arizona ag-input company that sells proprietary microalgae-based soil amendments, seed treatments, foliar treatments, and residue management products to row-crop farmers via a dealer network and e-commerce, targeting improved soil microbiome health and crop yield.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Heliae is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gilbert
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Heliae business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- PhycoTerra Agricultural Products: Heliae generates revenue through the sale of microalgae-based soil health and crop performance products, including soil amendments, seed treatments, foliar treatments, and residue management products for agricultural use.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Product Line - Multiple formulations for different application methods |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Heliae product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Heliae (DBA PhycoTerra) manufactures and sells proprietary microalgae-based agricultural inputs that activate dormant soil bacteria and fungi to improve soil health, water retention, nutrient availability, and crop yield. Its product line spans soil amendments, seed treatments, foliar treatments, residue management formulations, and an organic-certified variant, sold through authorized dealers and direct e-commerce to row-crop farmers.
Product overview
Heliae (DBA PhycoTerra®) offers a portfolio of microalgae-based agricultural products designed to nourish soil microbiomes and improve crop performance. The core product line includes PhycoTerra Soil Amendment, PhycoTerra Seed Treatment, PhycoTerra FX Foliar Treatment, and PhycoTerra Residue Management, all leveraging proprietary formulations of terrestrial microalgae to activate dormant soil microbes. An organic variant (PhycoTerra Organic) is available for certified organic operations. These products work across different zones of the plant environment—spermosphere, rhizosphere, phyllosphere, and detritusphere—to support stand establishment, stress mitigation, nutrient efficiency, and yield improvement throughout the growing season.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- PhycoTerra: All-natural microalgae-based superfood for soil replenishment, revitalizing microbes that promote healthy soil and sustained crop growth
- PhycoTerra Seed Treatment (Spermosphere)
- PhycoTerra Soil Amendment (Rhizosphere)
- PhycoTerra FX (Phyllosphere)
- PhycoTerra Residue Management (Detritusphere)
- PhycoTerra Organic
- Farm Forever
- Yield Assurance Program (FX Assurance Program)
Products and services
- PhycoTerra Soil Amendment Proprietary microalgae-based soil amendment that replenishes soil by feeding dormant native bacteria and fungi, improving water holding capacity, soil aggregation, and nutrient availability for row-crop farmers.
- PhycoTerra Seed Treatment Award-winning proprietary formulation applied to the soil on and around germinating seeds to support crop stand establishment and vigor for increased yield and ROI.
- PhycoTerra FX Foliar Treatment Proprietary foliar formulation that improves the leaf microbiome during the growing season, protecting crops against abiotic stressors such as UV, moisture and heat, and working alongside fungicide applications.
- PhycoTerra Residue Management Proprietary formulation for post-harvest residue management that feeds dormant native bacteria and fungi, promoting natural residue decomposition and higher planting temperatures.
- PhycoTerra Organic Soil Amendment Organic-certified microalgae-based soil amendment providing the same microbiome-activating benefits as the standard soil amendment while meeting organic certification requirements.
Quantifiable outcome
- Soil water holding capacity improvement up to 10%
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Heliae
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Heliae technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Heliae partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Heliae competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Symborg: Symborg is a biological ag-input company offering microbial inoculants and biostimulants, comparable in technology stack and target crop profile to Heliae.
- Indigo Ag: Indigo Ag develops and sells microbial seed treatments and biological soil products to row-crop farmers, the same core customer and product category as Heliae's PhycoTerra line.
- Sound Agriculture: Sound Agriculture offers on-demand nitrogen and microbe-activated soil solutions for row crops, directly comparable to PhycoTerra's rhizosphere activation approach.
- Locus Agricultural Solutions: Locus AG produces microbial soil and foliar treatments for row-crop and specialty growers, closely comparable to PhycoTerra's microalgae-based formulations.
- AgBiome: AgBiome develops microbial biological solutions for crop protection and soil health, directly comparable to Heliae's microbial/microalgae-based ag input portfolio.
- BioConsortia: BioConsortia develops microbial consortia for crop yield, plant health, and soil improvement, directly mirroring Heliae's microbiome-activation thesis.
- Pivot Bio: Pivot Bio produces microbial nitrogen-fixing products for corn and other row crops, directly competing with Heliae in the biological/soil-amendment space targeting similar growers.
Emerging players
- Terramera: Terramera develops biological crop inputs and biostimulants with a focus on sustainable agriculture, overlapping Heliae's foliar/stress-mitigation use cases.
- Vestaron: Vestaron develops peptide-based biological crop protection, an adjacent emerging biological-input approach with overlap in biostimulant-adjacent positioning vs Heliae.
Broad incumbents
- Novonesh (formerly Novozymes Agricultural Biologicals): Novonesh is a major biological ag-input incumbent offering microbial and enzyme-based soil and plant health products across global row crops, an overlapping but much broader portfolio peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Heliae social profiles
Digital presenceHeliae financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Heliae leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Heliae funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Heliae M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Heliae
What does Heliae do?
Heliae (DBA PhycoTerra) manufactures and sells proprietary microalgae-based agricultural inputs that activate dormant soil bacteria and fungi to improve soil health, water retention, nutrient availability, and crop yield. Its product line spans soil amendments, seed treatments, foliar treatments, residue management formulations, and an organic-certified variant, sold through authorized dealers and direct e-commerce to row-crop farmers.
Is Heliae a public or private company?
Heliae is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Heliae founded?
Heliae was founded in 2015. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Heliae based?
Heliae is headquartered in Gilbert, United States, in the North America region.
How does Heliae make money?
One revenue line is on record: phycoTerra Agricultural Products.
Who are Heliae's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Symborg, Indigo Ag, Sound Agriculture, Locus Agricultural Solutions, AgBiome, BioConsortia and Pivot Bio. Emerging players are Terramera and Vestaron. Novonesh (formerly Novozymes Agricultural Biologicals) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Heliae have an API?
No public API is recorded for Heliae.