Plant Sciences, Inc.

What Plant Sciences, Inc. does

Plant Sciences Genetics (PSG), operating under the legal name Plant Sciences, Inc., is a California-based berry breeding company founded in 1985 and headquartered in Watsonville. The company develops proprietary strawberry and blackberry varieties and licenses or sells plant material to commercial berry growers in key growing districts including Oxnard, Santa Maria (California), and Baja (Mexico). Its go-to-market is B2B and sales-led, with plant orders taken ahead of each growing season.

The company's core technology stack is built on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), executed through gene editing partnerships with Simplot for strawberries and Pairwise for blackberries. These alliances are intended to accelerate development of varieties with improved shelf-life, yield, and eating quality. PSG's flagship recent product, the VS-60 strawberry variety launched on March 26, 2026, was engineered to address agronomic challenges such as rainy-condition performance and late-season fruit integrity while preserving flavor quality, and is currently being distributed to the named growing districts.

PSG generates revenue primarily through one-time licensing and direct sales of proprietary plant material to commercial growers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and there is no indication of recurring subscription or royalty-based pricing. The company is privately held with 11-50 employees, is led by founder Steve Nelson (President and CEO), and operates without disclosed institutional investors, subsidiaries, or acquisitions. Its strategic posture, including alignment with the EU's 2025 gene editing ruling, positions PSG to scale its NGT-enabled variety pipeline in subsequent seasons.

Name

Plant Sciences, Inc.

Legal name

Plant Sciences Genetics

Website

https://plantsciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Plant Sciences Genetics is a California-based berry breeding company, founded in 1985, that develops and licenses proprietary strawberry and blackberry varieties to commercial growers in California and Baja, Mexico, using gene editing partnerships with Simplot and Pairwise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Berry Breeding and Plant Genetics

akta.pro primary industry

Trait Discovery & Functional Genomics (Target ID/Validation) (AFABALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biotechnology & Gene-Edited Trait Development (AFAGAIAG), Seed Trait Licensing & IP Management (Licensing, freedom-to-operate) (AFABALAJ), Transformation & Tissue Culture Platforms (Plant regeneration, delivery systems) (AFABALAH)

Keywords

• Berry breeding
• Strawberry varieties
• Plant genetics
• Agricultural licensing
• Fruit variety development

Headquarters

HQ city

Watsonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Berry Variety Licensing and Sales: PSG develops proprietary berry varieties and generates revenue through licensing and sales of plant materials (seeds/plants) to commercial growers. Plant orders are currently underway for the VS-60 variety ahead of the upcoming growing season.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Plant Sciences Genetics (PSG) develops and licenses proprietary strawberry and blackberry varieties to commercial berry growers. The company combines over 40 years of traditional breeding expertise with gene editing partnerships (Simplot for strawberries, Pairwise for blackberries) to develop varieties with improved shelf-life, yield, and eating quality. Revenue is generated through licensing and sales of plant materials (seeds/plants) to commercial growers in key California and Baja growing districts.

Product overview

Plant Sciences Genetics is a California-based berry breeding company focused on developing strawberry varieties. The company's product portfolio centers on proprietary strawberry varieties like VS-60, which represents its strategic direction combining grower performance traits with supply chain value creation, reflecting 40+ years of commitment to strengthening the berry industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VS-60 Strawberry Variety A proprietary strawberry variety designed to address agronomic challenges including performance in rainy conditions and late-season fruit integrity while maintaining flavor quality. Targeted at commercial strawberry growers in California and Baja Mexico growing districts.

Quantifiable outcome

• VS-60 demonstrates strong performance across key growing districts including Oxnard, Santa Maria, and Baja

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SimplotcoreTechnology or IntegrationGene editing partnership for strawberries, leveraging Simplot's technology to accelerate development of strawberry varieties with improved shelf-life, yield, and eating quality using New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).
• PairwisecoreTechnology or IntegrationGene editing partnership for blackberries, working with Pairwise to develop blackberry varieties with improved shelf-life, yield, and eating quality through New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• BASF Agricultural Solutions: Global agricultural input company with seed and trait operations. Relevant broad incumbent competing in trait development across major crops.
• Corteva: Global seed and crop protection company with an extensive gene edited trait portfolio. Comparable as a broad incumbent that could enter berry genetics.
• Syngenta: Global seed and crop protection company with broad trait development capabilities. Relevant broad incumbent that competes in plant genetics and could expand into berry traits.
• Bayer Crop Science: Global seed and trait giant with extensive gene editing and trait development capabilities. Relevant as a much larger incumbent that could enter strawberry/blackberry trait licensing.

Direct peers

• Naturipe Farms: Major berry producer with proprietary breeding programs across strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Directly comparable to PSG as a vertically integrated berry genetics company.
• Driscoll's: The largest global berry company, with proprietary breeding programs across strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Directly comparable to PSG as a vertically integrated berry genetics and licensing business.
• Fall Creek Farm & Nursery: International nursery specializing in blueberry, raspberry, and other berry plant propagation and variety development. Highly comparable to PSG in its breeder-licensor model serving commercial berry growers.
• Wish Farms: US-based strawberry and blueberry grower-marketer with proprietary strawberry variety programs. Comparable to PSG as a strawberry-focused breeder and licensor serving commercial growers.
• Well-Pict Berries: California-based strawberry grower with proprietary variety development. Comparable to PSG in serving California commercial strawberry growers with proprietary genetics.

Emerging players

• Pairwise: Pioneering gene editing company developing improved fruit varieties including a seedless blackberry and a pitless cherry. Although a PSG partner, comparable as an emerging gene editing platform for fruit/berry category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/psi1985
• Facebookfacebook.com/plant-sciences-inc-113604211103
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plant-sciences-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Plant Sciences, Inc.