B-COS

What B-COS does

B-COS is a Belgian biotechnology spin-off from Ghent University that develops biological crop protection products through precision fermentation. Founded in June 2025 as the first company launched through the university's Fast Lane program, the company produces structurally defined chitooligosaccharides (COS) — bioactive molecules inspired by natural plant defense signals — using engineered bacterial hosts fed simple sugar substrates. The company is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, and has three co-founders: CEO Chiara Guidi, CTO Wouter Demeester, and CCO Maaike Perneel, all doctoral graduates from Professor Marjan De Mey's industrial biotechnology laboratory.

The company's core technology is a precision fermentation platform that enables scalable, high-purity production of COS molecules with tunable chain lengths. The production process comprises four steps: precision fermentation in engineered bacterial hosts, highly-specific COS purification, formulation into seed coatings or foliar sprays, and activation of the plant's own immune system. The platform's primary technical advantage is pharmaceutical-grade batch-to-batch consistency, addressing the molecular variability that has limited commercial adoption of traditional biopesticides derived from extraction. The lead product targets tomato crops, providing protection against fungal disease and nematodes alongside improved drought resilience, with the tunable platform designed to extend to additional crops and agronomic challenges.

B-COS operates a dual revenue model combining direct product sales with technology partnerships. End-product sales are planned for professional growers — initially European tomato farmers and greenhouse operators — via direct enterprise sales channels. In parallel, the company is pursuing early discovery and potential licensing agreements with established crop protection companies; an early discovery agreement with Nichino Europe (European subsidiary of Japan's Nihon Nohyaku) was announced in May 2026. The company is pre-revenue and is raising capital through a €1M pre-seed round (May 2026) backed by Agri Investment Fund, VP Capital, and Biotope by VIB, with a VLAIO research grant supporting mode-of-action studies to inform regulatory navigation in the EU market.

Name

B-COS

Legal name

B-COS

Website

https://b-cos.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

B-COS is a Ghent University biotech spin-off developing biological crop protection products via precision fermentation of structurally defined chitooligosaccharides that activate plant immunity, initially targeting professional tomato growers in Europe with planned expansion across crops and geographies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biological Crop Protection

NAICS

Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (32532)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Biostimulants & Plant Health Biologicals (Microbial/Non-microbial) (AFABAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biological Formulation, Fermentation & Scale-Up Manufacturing (AFABAEAM), Microbial Biofungicides (AFABAEAB)

Keywords

• Biological crop protection
• Precision fermentation
• Biopesticide development
• Plant immunity activation
• Chitooligosaccharide production

Headquarters

HQ city

Gent

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Biological Crop Protection Products: Sale of precision-fermented chitooligosaccharide-based crop protection products to professional growers. Lead product targets tomato, offering protection against fungal disease and nematodes with improved drought resilience. Revenue generated through direct product sales to farmers and agricultural operations.
2. Technology Licensing and Discovery Agreements: Early discovery agreements with crop protection companies (e.g., Nichino Europe) to evaluate the agronomic potential of precision-fermented chitooligosaccharides across multiple crop protection applications. May include licensing of technology platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

B-COS develops biological crop protection products based on precision-fermented chitooligosaccharides (COS) — bioactive molecules that activate plant immunity against fungi, nematodes, insects, and drought. The platform uses engineered bacterial hosts to produce structurally defined, consistent molecules at scale via a four-step process: precision fermentation, COS purification, formulation, and field application, with tomato as the lead target crop.

Product overview

B-COS is a biotech spin-off that develops biological crop protection products based on precision-fermented chitooligosaccharides (COS). Their product portfolio centers on a core COS-based crop protection platform, with tomato as the initial focus crop. The technology platform can be tuned to produce distinct chitooligosaccharide structures for different crops and agronomic challenges, including fungal protection, nematode protection, and drought resilience. The company operates through a four-step approach: precision fermentation using engineered bacterial hosts, COS purification, seed coating and foliar formulation, and plant immunity activation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chitooligosaccharide (COS) Crop Protection Product Biologically derived crop protection products based on precision-fermented chitooligosaccharides (COS) with pharmaceutical-grade batch-to-batch consistency, designed for professional farmers and greenhouse operators seeking reliable biological alternatives to chemical crop protection.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% of approved synthetic active substances withdrawn from EU market since 2009

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nichino EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Early discovery agreement to evaluate the agronomic potential of precision-fermented chitooligosaccharides across multiple crop protection applications. Nichino Europe, European subsidiary of Japanese crop protection group Nihon Nohyaku, aims to analyze B-COS solutions to potentially shorten time to market.
• CCI France BelgiqueminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Partnered with ILVO and CCI France Belgique for Agrifood Summit where B-COS won Public Award Agritech 2025.
• ILVO (Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Agricultural research institute that partnered with CCI France Belgique to host Agrifood Summit where B-COS won Public Award Agritech 2025.
• Ghent UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerB-COS is a spin-off from Ghent University's Fast Lane spin-off program (June 2025). Technology developed under Professor Marjan De Mey's guidance. Company founded by doctoral graduates from Professor De Mey's laboratory.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Biotalys: Belgian-listed biotech developing protein-based biocontrol products for crop protection. Closely comparable to B-COS on technology (biotech-derived biologicals), stage (pre-commercial / early commercial), geography (EU headquartered) and end-customers (European professional growers).
• AgBiome: US-based agtech that discovers and develops microbial-based crop protection products using genomics-driven screening. Highly comparable to B-COS's microbially-derived, mode-of-action-driven approach to crop protection.
• BioConsortia: Develops microbial consortia and bioproducts for crop protection and yield improvement. Comparable as a microbe-derived biological crop protection company targeting similar agronomic challenges.
• Terramera: Agtech focused on biological crop protection and plant health using active ingredient technology. Comparable focus on reducing synthetic pesticide use by replacing it with biologically derived alternatives, with a similar early-to-growth stage profile.
• Evogene: Computational biology company developing novel crop protection and ag-input products, including through microbial and fermentation routes. Comparable as a science-driven, R&D-heavy developer of next-generation crop protection chemistry serving large agribusiness channels.
• Marrone Bio Innovations (now ProFarm by Lighthouse): Specialises in biological crop protection products derived from natural microorganisms. Comparable to B-COS as a directly competing biopesticide company selling to professional growers across row and specialty crops.

Broad incumbents

• Indigo Ag: Large, well-funded microbial product company offering biological seed treatments and crop inputs. Comparable as a biological, microbe-based crop protection platform, though broader in scope and far larger in scale than B-COS.
• Valent BioSciences: Established global biorational and biopesticide business (Sumitomo Chemical subsidiary). Comparable as a long-standing seller of microbial and fermentation-derived crop protection products to professional growers.
• Certis Biologicals: Specialist biopesticide manufacturer (Mitsui & Co. subsidiary) selling biological crop protection products to growers worldwide. Comparable target customer and product category, though operates as a large incumbent commercial manufacturer rather than a research-stage start-up.
• Novonesis (formerly Novozymes Agricultural Biosolutions): Global leader in industrial enzymes and microbial solutions, including biological crop protection and biocontrol. Comparable on the use of microbial production to deliver crop protection actives, though from an incumbent platform spanning many crops.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/b-cos
• Xx.com/BCOS__

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 B-COS