The funding will support development of the company’s Trait Foundry platform and research into crop traits intended to help smallholder farmers adapt to harsher growing conditions. The project will initially focus on improving seedling performance under environmental stress, a stage when high temperatures and limited water can significantly reduce crop establishment.
The research will begin with corn, sorghum and rice, crops widely grown in regions vulnerable to climate stress, including parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The work is expected to generate genetic trait components and scientific data that could support future breeding programs.
Founded in 2025 as a spin-off from the VIB–UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, Rainbow Crops develops crop genetics targeting complex agronomic traits linked to environmental stress. The company is led by co-founder and chief executive Giacomo Bastianelli.
The Trait Foundry platform combines genome editing, computational analysis, plant breeding and high-throughput phenotyping to identify and combine genetic variants associated with traits such as drought tolerance, plant vigor and heat resilience. According to the company, the technology has already been tested in corn. This grant will allows to further strengthen the technology platform and contribute advances that support the development of more climate-resilient crops.
The research builds on scientific work developed at VIB. Rainbow Crops plans to collaborate with the laboratory of plant scientist Hilde Nelissen, as well as the institute’s transformation facility and agro-incubator.
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