The Traits Company announces collaboration to advance soybean trait development
The Traits Company, an agricultural biotechnology company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, has announced a strategic collaboration with U.K.-based Wild Bioscience to accelerate the development of next-generation soybean varieties.
“This partnership helps solidify our model of unrestrained innovation by combining deep internal trait development capabilities with strategic global partnerships that accelerate discovery, validation and commercialization,” said Fayaz Khazi, founder and CEO of The Traits Company.
Founded originally as Traitology, The Traits Company has built an end-to-end platform for crop trait development, with a strong focus on soybeans and corn.
The company’s collaborative research and development model combines elite germplasm, internal scientific capabilities, external technologies and global market access to support the development of new agricultural products.
“Soybean is North Carolina’s top crop, and this collaboration directly supports our state’s $103 billion agricultural economy,” said Khazi. “By validating these technologies, we provide the state’s farmers with tools to cut fertilizer costs and increase yields. This partnership doesn't just improve crops; it creates high-value jobs and trains a workforce capable of leading the global agtech sector from right here in N.C.”
Building global connections
“Our model is intentionally designed to extend beyond traditional boundaries,” said Khazi. “By pairing strong internal expertise with best-in-class partners, we are able to expand the solution space for trait development while maintaining a clear and efficient path to commercialization.”
A cornerstone of this strategy is The Traits Company’s partnership with GDM, a global leader in field-crop genetics and a strategic investor in the company.
By leveraging GDM’s worldwide soybean footprint, breeding infrastructure and commercial reach, The Traits Company can help promising traits move efficiently from discovery to large-scale deployment in farmers’ fields around the world.
Under the collaboration with Wild Bioscience, The Traits Company plans to integrate Wild Bioscience’s proprietary trait design capabilities into its product development pipeline. Resulting products will then be scaled for commercial use through GDM’s global platforms.
Wild Bioscience’s platform applies machine learning and evolutionary biology to identify and optimize plant traits that add value for farmers and growers, enabling rapid generation and validation of new soybean traits.
“The Traits Company brings an exceptional depth of soybean expertise and a proven path to commercialization,” said Ross Hendron, co-founder and CEO of Wild Bioscience, founded in 2021 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford. “By working together, we can translate AI-driven biological insight into real-world agricultural impact, accelerating gains in efficiency and resilience for one of the world’s most important crops.”
Khazi adds that by solidifying this hybrid innovation model, The Traits Company is building an open, collaborative platform that delivers lasting value to farmers, partners and communities in N.C. and beyond.
“With soybean as the largest crop by acreage in the state, N.C. is closely tied to the kinds of challenges this partnership addresses,” said Paul Ulanch, senior director for focused initiatives at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. “We’re excited to see RTP-based innovators like The Traits Company advancing global solutions that may impact agriculture here at home.”
Previous coverage of The Traits Company and related agtech topics:
NCBiotech portfolio companies tackle big agtech needs | North Carolina Biotechnology Center