Tropic raises $105M to scale gene-edited bananas

"Panama Disease Tropical Race 4, a fungal pathogen that travels in soil and water and leaves no cure in its wake, has now been confirmed in more than 20 countries. It threatens, in the starkest terms, the near-total collapse of the global Cavendish banana, the single variety that accounts for over 90% of the export market and underpins a $25 billion industry that supports 400 million people."

"Together they built out a platform using CRISPR gene editing and Tropic's own proprietary technology, Gene Editing Induced Gene Silencing, or GEiGS, to make targeted modifications to tropical crops without introducing foreign DNA. The milestone that drove this round happened in 2025: Tropic commercially launched two new banana varieties, the first to reach market in more than 75 years."

"Against that backdrop, Tropic, a Norwich-based gene-editing company, has raised $105 million (approximately €91 million) in an oversubscribed Series C, co-led by Forbion through its Bioeconomy Fund and Corteva, via its Corteva Catalyst investment platform. Significant participation came from Just Climate and IQ Capital, alongside new investors ABN Amro and Invest International."

Panama Disease Tropical Race 4 threatens to collapse the global banana industry, which relies almost entirely on the Cavendish variety accounting for over 90% of exports and supporting a $25 billion market. Tropic, a Norwich-based gene-editing company founded in 2016, developed new disease-resistant banana varieties using CRISPR technology and proprietary GEiGS technology that makes targeted modifications without introducing foreign DNA. The company commercially launched two new banana varieties in 2025, marking the first new varieties in over 75 years. Tropic raised $105 million in Series C funding led by Forbion and Corteva to scale production and meet global demand for these disease-resistant alternatives.

Read at TNW | Sustainability