Bindbridge raises $3.8M to develop AI-driven crop protection targeting herbicide resistance

Bindbridge, a Cambridge-based agricultural biotechnology startup, has raised $3.8 million in early-stage funding to develop next-generation crop protection products using artificial intelligence. The investment round was backed by venture firms Speedinvest and Nucleus Capital and will support the company’s efforts to develop new molecular compounds to combat herbicide-resistant weeds and crop pests.

The company is developing an AI-driven computational platform focused on targeted protein degradation, a scientific approach that uses so-called molecular “glues” to trigger the breakdown of specific proteins in weeds or pests. Bindbridge said the technology could shorten development timelines and reduce costs in the global crop protection industry, which spends up to $9 billion annually on research and development and can take more than a decade to bring a new active ingredient to market.

Bindbridge plans to use the funding to expand its team, advance its platform engineering, and begin laboratory testing of its first agricultural molecular glues. The company is also in late-stage discussions with major agrochemical companies on potential co-development partnerships. According to the United Nations, around 40% of global crops are lost annually to pests, while herbicide-resistant weeds alone destroy roughly $70 billion worth of crops each year.