CGIAR Excellence in Breeding

What CGIAR Excellence in Breeding does

CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB), now operating as part of the 'Breeding for Tomorrow' Science Program, is an agricultural research initiative within the CGIAR global research partnership. It is hosted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Texcoco, Mexico, and accelerates crop breeding programs across 15+ mandate crops (wheat, maize, rice, cassava, sorghum, yam, sweet potato, pearl millet, finger millet, durum wheat, common bean, groundnut, cowpea, pigeonpea, and potato) for CGIAR centers, National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), and SME breeding networks primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The organization operates the Breeding for Tomorrow Toolbox (GI Toolbox), a curated platform of user-validated tools, services, best practices, and learning materials organized into collections covering breeding informatics, breeding scheme optimization, genotyping and sequencing services, market intelligence and product design, operations and phenotyping, genebanks, and seed systems. Underlying technology centers on DArTag and Flex-Seq mid-density genotyping platforms delivering up to 4,000 markers per assay, supported by standardized process frameworks (SIPOCs, stage-plans, stage-gates) harmonized across 24 high-level indicators. The Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) provides breeding management infrastructure. Vendor partners DArT, LGC, and Agriplex execute genotyping at low cost across all mandate crops.

Revenue economics are split between restricted donor funding (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research) supporting the programmatic mandate and a usage-based genotyping service priced at $12–17 per sample with 10–15 day turnaround, designed as a cost-recovery mechanism that aggregates demand across institutions. Distribution is primarily through the excellenceinbreeding.org self-serve platform, supported by social channels and events rather than a commercial sales motion. The customer base is concentrated in public-sector and donor-funded agricultural research institutions, with no commercial productization of the underlying genotyping IP outside the consortium.

Name

CGIAR Excellence in Breeding

Legal name

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Website

https://excellenceinbreeding.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CGIAR Excellence in Breeding, a CGIAR Science Program hosted by CIMMYT, operates the Breeding for Tomorrow Toolbox — a curated platform of mid-density genotyping services and breeding workflow tools — for CGIAR centers, NARES institutions, and SME breeding networks across 15+ mandate crops in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research Services

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Genotyping Platforms & Services (SNP arrays, GBS, sequencing) (AFABALAE)

Keywords

• Agricultural research services
• Crop genotyping services
• Breeding informatics tools
• Genomic selection platforms
• Plant genetic resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Texcoco

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Genotyping Services: Low-cost genotyping services offered at $12-17 per sample (depending on sample plex), with a turnaround time of 10-15 days. Aggregates demand across CGIAR and NARES breeding institutions for cost efficiency.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB) operates the Breeding for Tomorrow Toolbox, a curated platform of user-validated tools, services, best practices, and learning materials for crop breeding programs. It provides low-cost mid-density genotyping services for more than 15 CGIAR mandate crops using DArTag and Flex-Seq technologies, alongside standardized frameworks (SIPOCs, stage-plans, stage-gates) that harmonize breeding processes across 24 high-level indicators. The initiative aggregates demand across CGIAR Centers, NARES partners, and SME breeding networks to deliver cost-effective genotyping at $12-17 per sample with a 10-15 day turnaround.

Product overview

CGIAR Excellence in Breeding operates the Breeding for Tomorrow Toolbox (GI Toolbox), a comprehensive platform offering user-validated tools, services, and learning materials for breeding programs, seed systems, and genetic resource conservation. The platform encompasses the Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) and a comprehensive suite of mid-density genotyping services for over 15 mandate crops including wheat, maize, rice, cassava, sorghum, groundnut, and others. Tools are organized into collections covering Breeding Informatics, Breeding Scheme Optimization, Genebanks, Genotyping/Sequencing Tools, Market Intelligence, Operations and Phenotyping, and Seed Systems. Genotyping services are delivered through vendors DArT, LGC, and Agriplex, enabling genomic selection, marker-assisted breeding, diversity studies, and germplasm management. The platform also supports process standardization with frameworks like SIPOCs, stage-plans, and stage-gates for breeding operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Process improvement documented from 2022-2024 with standardized breeding frameworks across 24 high-level indicators

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIMMYT hosts the excellenceinbreeding.org domain and is a key collaborator in developing and providing genotyping services including the Durum Wheat TdDArTAG panel and Maize 5K SNP Panel.
• IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIITA collaborated with CIMMYT to jointly develop the Flex-Seq Maize 5K SNP Panel for implementing genomic assisted breeding in maize programs.
• IRRI (International Rice Research Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRRI developed the 1k RiCA mid-density genotyping panel for rice at IRRI to enable affordable, efficient genomic selection.
• ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICARDA collaborated in developing the Durum Wheat TdDArTAG panel, contributing genomic resources alongside CIMMYT and CREA.
• CIP (International Potato Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIP is a key partner providing genotyping services and research for potato and other root/tuber crops.
• NARES (National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNARES institutions are primary target customers and partners, with EiB providing aggregated genotyping services to enable cost-effective access for national breeding centers.
• CREA (Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCREA collaborated with CIMMYT and ICARDA to develop the Durum Wheat TdDArTAG panel, contributing genomic resources based on large genotypic datasets.
• DArT (Diversity Arrays Technology)coreTechnology or IntegrationDArT serves as the primary vendor for DArTag genotyping services across multiple crops including common bean, cowpea, groundnut, maize, pigeonpea, potato, rice, sorghum, wheat, cassava, sweet potato, yam, durum wheat, pearl millet, and finger millet.
• LGC (LGC Group)coreTechnology or IntegrationLGC provides the Flex-Seq Maize 5K SNP Panel genotyping platform for maize breeding programs.
• AgriplexcoreTechnology or IntegrationAgriplex is a service provider offering the 1k RiCA rice mid-density genotyping panel alongside DArT.
• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIATcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with IITA, Cornell University, EMBRAPA, and Excellence in Breeding to develop the 3K-CassCA cassava custom sequencing-based amplicon panel.
• ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRISAT contributes to groundnut breeding programs and genomics research, including development of the 2,500 SNP marker panel for groundnut.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SGS: SGS provides agricultural testing, inspection, and certification services globally including seed and crop-related testing. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping agricultural testing capabilities, though not specialized in genomics.
• NEOGEN Corporation: NEOGEN provides agrigenomics services and genotyping platforms to plant and animal breeding programs globally. It is a broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities as part of a larger food safety and animal safety portfolio.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher offers genotyping arrays, sequencing, and genomics services through its life sciences portfolio. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities in agricultural genomics but operates across many end markets beyond breeding.
• Eurofins Genomics: Eurofins operates one of the largest commercial genotyping and genomics services networks globally, serving agricultural and breeding customers. It is a broad incumbent offering comparable services as part of a much larger testing services portfolio.
• Illumina: Illumina is the dominant provider of high-density genotyping and sequencing platforms underlying most agricultural genomics workflows. It is a broad incumbent whose technology underpins portions of EiB's ecosystem but operates at a much larger scale across many end markets.

Direct peers

• LGC Group: LGC provides the Flex-Seq Maize 5K SNP Panel genotyping platform used by EiB's maize programs. It is a direct peer as a genomics services provider serving plant and animal breeding markets with comparable assay offerings.
• Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT): DArT is the primary genotyping technology vendor behind EiB's DArTag mid-density panels, providing services for 15+ crops. It is a direct peer in agricultural genotyping services and the most operationally comparable provider to EiB's core offering.

Emerging players

• Pairwise: Pairwise uses gene editing and proprietary genomics tools to develop improved crop varieties, primarily for North American row crops and specialty produce. It is an emerging player with overlapping crop improvement capabilities but a commercial focus.
• Benson Hill: Benson Hill combines genomics, AI, and crop breeding to develop improved soybean and other crop varieties. It is an emerging player with overlapping crop improvement capabilities, focused on commercial seed and ingredient markets.
• Inari Agriculture: Inari applies AI-driven predictive design and gene editing to seed development for major crops. It is an emerging player with partial overlap in crop improvement technology, focused on commercial seed markets rather than public-sector mandate crops.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CGIAR_EiB
• Facebookfacebook.com/CGIAR.EiB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/excellenceinbreeding

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CGIAR Excellence in Breeding