Switch Bioworks
Americas
San Carlos
,
United States
Scaleup
FOUNDED
2022
HEADCOUNT
21-100
FUNDING
Seed
Keywords:
bacteria, synthetic_biology, nitrogen_fixation, fertilizers
BUSINESS
Switch Bioworks engineers symbiotic nitrogen-fixing microbes with proprietary genetic circuits that allow the bacteria to first colonize plant roots and then "switch on" nitrogen fertilizer production.
BIOTECH INVOLVEMENT
Switch Bioworks uses synthetic biology to engineer nitrogen-fixing bacteria with genetic circuits that decouple root colonization from nitrogen fixation, addressing the core problem that has limited biofertilizers for 50 years: engineered nitrogen-fixing microbes are too metabolically burdened to compete with native soil microbes. The "switch" mechanism allows microbes to first establish themselves on roots before activating the energy-intensive nitrogen fixation pathway. The platform is modular and potentially applicable beyond nitrogen to other precision-engineered biological products.
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
microbial engineering; fermentation
PRIMARY PRODUCTS
Powder-formulated microbes for nitrogen fertilizer