Robigo has developed engineered microbes that protect crops as effectively as chemical pesticides, MIT reported. The biotechnology startup equips naturally occurring, industry-tested bacteria with RNA interference capabilities to suppress plant diseases without relying on toxic synthetic sprays.
Farmers worldwide spend $80 billion each year on chemical treatments to protect their harvests. Conventional sprays eliminate pests but also kill bees and beneficial soil organisms, pollute waterways, and carry documented links to human health conditions including cancer and Parkinson’s disease. While existing microbial alternatives avoid these harms, they frequently underperform synthetic chemicals in the field, forcing growers to risk yield losses.
Field trials across five states showed that Robigo's treatments deliver protection comparable to conventional chemical pesticides. In one trial comparing Robigo to an existing commercial microbial spray, Robigo's treatment yielded a 250 percent increase in harvested crop. Third-party field trials on lettuce and soybeans in the Midwest and West demonstrated that a single application protected plants across an entire growing season at a fraction of the cost of standard chemical treatments.
Andee Wallace, who earned her doctorate in biological engineering at MIT under professor Chris Voigt, founded Robigo alongside MIT alumni Jai Padmakumar and Connor Sweeney. Sweeney remained with the company for about a year, while Padmakumar departed in 2022. The founders initially pursued CRISPR-based delivery before pivoting to RNA interference. Early development was backed by MIT programs including the Venture Mentoring Service, MIT Sandbox, delta v, and the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition.
The company’s ARGO platform combines synthetic biology with proprietary computational tools to engineer bacteria that naturally thrive in agricultural soil. Through a process the company calls RNAi stacking, Robigo packages multiple RNA interference instructions into a single microbe to target multiple crop diseases simultaneously. Because the engineered microbes replicate in the field, they continuously generate protective molecules throughout the crop cycle rather than washing away.
Robigo is expanding its operations fourfold this year and preparing for faster growth next year in collaboration with major agrochemical corporations. The startup is currently adapting its ARGO platform to cover additional crop varieties for agricultural markets worldwide.
