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Heritable Agriculture, an AI-powered crop improvement start-up spun out of Google X, has secured a $4.98 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund its 'Joint AI-driven Smallholder Omics aNalytics' (JASON) initiative.
The project aims to develop climate-resilient crops for smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) using artificial intelligence combined with genomic 'omics' technologies.
Heritable Agriculture will establish a cloud-based AI genomics engine to accelerate gene discovery and breeding cycles, identifying targets for crops that can withstand extreme drought, heat and other climate stressors.
By integrating AI with genomic and remote sensing data, the company seeks to cut conventional breeding timelines, potentially delivering resilient germplasm to farmers faster.
“This project allows us to dramatically accelerate the discovery and deployment of climate-resilient crops,” said Tim Beissinger, CTO of Heritable Agriculture.
CEO Brad Zamft added that the initiative reflects the company’s mission to combine technological innovation with global impact while building a scalable agritech business.
The grant comes amid growing concern over climate-driven yield losses in smallholder farming, which produces up to 80% of the food in low- and middle-income countries.
Prolonged droughts and rising temperatures increasingly threaten food security, farmer livelihoods and rural economies, creating demand for technological solutions that can increase crop resilience and reduce risk exposure.
Heritable Agriculture’s AI-driven platform mines both ancient and modern crop genomes to identify functional genes that improve stress tolerance. These insights feed into multiplex gene-editing strategies, enabling the development of robust crop varieties for deployment in vulnerable regions.
Founded from Google’s X Moonshot Factory, Heritable Agriculture positions itself at the intersection of AI, genomics and agritech innovation, targeting global food security markets while providing solutions that could also inform commercial breeding and seed development for the broader F&B supply chain.
The JASON project aligns with the Gates Foundation’s strategic focus on digital innovation to reduce climate-related losses in agriculture, offering potential partnerships for seed companies, agribusinesses and investors looking to integrate AI-driven crop solutions into resilient supply chains.