Tropic Biosciences
Norwich AgTech company gene-editing tropical crops; raised $105m Series C in March 2026 for banana and rice expansion.
Last refreshed: 13 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Norwich's gene-edited bananas hold the answer to a global crop disease crisis?
Timeline for Tropic Biosciences
Closed oversubscribed $105m Series C
UK Startups and Innovation: Tropic Biosciences raises $105m from Norwich- What is Tropic Biosciences and what are they developing?
- Tropic Biosciences is a Norwich-based AgTech company that uses gene editing to develop improved tropical crops. Its GEiGS® platform creates disease-resistant, higher-yield banana and rice varieties without introducing foreign DNA.Source: Tropic Biosciences website
- Are Tropic Biosciences' gene-edited crops approved to sell?
- Tropic Biosciences already has two banana varieties on the market, with demand outstripping supply as of early 2026. The company is expanding its rice portfolio with the £105m Series C funding.Source: Tropic Biosciences press release
- What is the TR4 fungus doing to the global banana supply?
- Tropical Race 4 (TR4) is a soil-borne fungus that destroys Cavendish banana plants — the variety that makes up most commercial banana production. It has spread across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, threatening the global banana supply chain.Source: FAO / Tropic Biosciences
Background
Tropic Biosciences closed an oversubscribed $105m Series C in March 2026, co-led by Forbion's Bioeconomy Fund and Corteva Catalyst, with significant participation from Temasek, Just Climate, and IQ Capital. The raise will accelerate the commercial rollout of the company's banana and rice portfolios and fund development of disease-resistant crop varieties for global markets.
Based at Norwich Research Park, Tropic Biosciences develops improved tropical crops using its proprietary GEiGS® platform — a gene editing technology that enables precise modifications to crop genetics without introducing foreign DNA. The company currently has two banana varieties on the market, with demand outstripping supply. Its core research targets the devastation caused by fungal diseases including TR4 (Tropical Race 4 of Panama disease) and Black Sigatoka, which threaten the global banana supply, and the development of higher-yield, climate-resilient rice varieties. Norwich Research Park is home to the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, giving Tropic access to world-class plant science infrastructure.
Tropic is one of the few significant UK deep-tech fundraises in this wave to come from outside the London-Oxford-Cambridge corridor, representing a rare win for regional UK science and technology. Its investors — particularly Corteva (one of the world's largest agricultural input companies) and Temasek (Singapore's sovereign wealth fund) — signal global commercial confidence in the company's technology and its potential to address food security challenges at scale.