Switch Bioworks strengthens leadership team and relocates to larger R&D facility

Switch Bioworks, a biotechnology company developing low-cost, sustainable fertilizers, has appointed two senior executives and relocated to a larger headquarters and research facility as it prepares to bring its microbial products to market.

The company named Steve del Cardayre chief technology officer and Brett Boghigian chief business officer. Del Cardayre, who has more than 25 years of experience in microbial engineering and industrial biotechnology, was most recently co-founder and CTO of Zero Acre Farms. His earlier roles include senior positions at Renewable Energy Group, Codexis and Maxygen, as well as co-founder of LS9, where he helped develop microbial production methods for fuels and chemicals.

Boghigianjoins from food-preservation company Mori, where he was senior vice president. He spent 12 years within Flagship Pioneering’s portfolio companies, including Indigo Ag, where he led business and product development for microbial products deployed on tens of millions of acres worldwide.

Switch’s technology engineers symbiotic microbes that colonize plant roots and produce fertilizer in situ, starting with nitrogen. The approach is aimed at reducing farmers’ reliance on synthetic fertilizers, lowering input costs and minimizing environmental runoff — priorities that have been gaining urgency as fertilizer prices remain volatile and regulatory pressures increase.

The company’s new headquarters in San Carlos triples its research and development footprint, consolidating fermentation facilities, plant growth rooms, laboratories and office space. Founded in 2022 out of Stanford University, Switch Bioworks is backed by investors and scientific advisors in the ag-biologicals sector.

Chief executive Tim Schnabel said the expansion and leadership appointments position the company to accelerate its product pipeline and strengthen partnerships with growers, agribusinesses and distributors as the market for biological inputs continues to expand.