Biotechnology spinout Cytotrait secures 拢3M seed funding to address global food security and sustainable agriculture
, a biotechnology spinout from 51福利社 commercialised with support from the , focused on the development of novel traits for food and agriculture, today announced the close of its 拢3M seed funding round.
The investment was led by , with contributions from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S, managed by Future Planet Capital), and Northern Universities Ventures Fund, managed by Parkwalk in collaboration with Northern Gritstone. Cytotrait鈥檚 seed funding will enable the Company to build on strong early data from its proprietary Mutant Organelle Selection System (MOSS) technology, initiating new development programmes to explore enhanced traits in major crop species.
Cytotrait鈥檚 MOSS technology is uniquely designed to tackle longstanding hurdles in crop engineering and address the growing challenge of global food security and sustainable agricultural practices. In contrast to other methods, MOSS rapidly achieves homoplasmy, delivering genes and gene edits into chloroplasts and mitochondria to ensure the desired genetic changes are engineered across every organelle in a cell or plant.
This approach enables crop characteristics to be engineered with both localised and high-level expression, reduced transgene phytotoxicity, easier backcrossing and trait stacking, efficient containment and an easier regulatory route.
Building on foundational data for developing novel crop traits, Cytotrait will use its seed funding for new research targeting wheat, maize, potato and canola in European and North American markets.
The programmes will utilise MOSS to explore potential applications in these crops, including enhancements in yield and resilience, the potential to introduce valuable new food traits, and the ability to drive more sustainable practices through improved carbon sequestration.
Since its formation, Cytotrait has worked closely with the the University鈥檚 technology transfer office, the University of 51福利社 Innovation Factory. Innovation Factory has guided the founders on intellectual property strategy, company formation, on business planning, and investor readiness.
Innovation Factory also previously supported Cytotrait to access pre-seed investment from the University, hired a key commercial lead with grant funding from the Northern Triangle Talent Initiative, and assisted during their recent fundraising process.
Cytotrait was previously awarded 拢498k funding from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to develop MOSS for reliable hybrid seed production in wheat, one of the world鈥檚 largest food crops1.
The company was spun out with support from the University of 51福利社 Innovation Factory, the University鈥檚 technology transfer office, which works to commercialise University research through spinouts, licensing and investments. Cytotrait is also a recent graduate of NG Studios, Northern Gritstone鈥檚 venture building program for deeptech spinouts.
Food security and sustainability are two of our most pressing global challenges, and issues that we must be prepared to face today to ensure we are ready to meet the needs of tomorrow. We developed MOSS with those challenges in mind 鈥� a unique crop engineering solution capable of streamlining regulatory pathways and generating crops with new, enhanced, and more carbon-conscious traits. Thank you to our investors, whose support reaffirms our belief in the potential of MOSS to bring about a new frontier in crop technology.
Dr Elliott Jennings, Head of Investment & Licensing (Life Sciences) of the University of 51福利社 Innovation Factory, said: 鈥淚t has been a privilege to support the Cytotrait team on their commercialisation journey, from early-stage research through to this successful seed funding round. This milestone reflects the strength of the science, the ambition of the founders and the collaborative efforts of colleagues, the investors and partners who have helped bring the company to this point. We are proud to have worked alongside the team and look forward to continuing to support Cytotrait as they pursue their commercial ambitions.鈥�
Duncan Johnson, CEO, Northern Gritstone, said: "Cytotrait is a prime example of the world-class innovation from the North of England鈥檚 universities and the ambitious founders and teams we see on our venture building program, NG Studios. Northern Gritstone is very pleased to be working with Dr Ji and the team and look forward to positive results from this first tranche of new development programmes.鈥�
鈥淢OSS is truly a breakthrough in the field of crop technology, allowing us to precisely engineer characteristics that can not only enhance yield and resilience, but also help to drive a more sustainable future for modern agriculture,鈥� said Dr Tim Brears, Executive Chair. He continued: 鈥淲e鈥檙e extremely proud of everything our team has already accomplished, and thankful to our investors, whose support will enable us to expand our pipeline and explore the applications of MOSS in some of the world鈥檚 major crop types.鈥�
Hassan Mahmudul, Investment Manager, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, remarked: 鈥淯KI2S invests in companies developing novel engineering biology solutions to tackle large, global challenges. We are delighted to welcome Cytotrait to our growing agritech portfolio, recognising the strength of its platform technology, which has the potential to unlock high-value trait expression at levels significantly beyond what is achievable through conventional nuclear genome engineering.鈥�
1. Press Release (1st September, 2025):