UK AgTech Tropic Secures €91.3M For Banana And Climate-Resilient Crop Expansion

The round was co-led by Forbion through its Bioeconomy Fund and Corteva via its Corteva Catalyst platform, with participation from Just Climate, IQ Capital, and new investors ABN Amro and Invest International. Existing investors Temasek, Five Seasons Ventures, Sucden Ventures, Genoa Ventures, and Polaris Partners also participated.

As part of the financing, Joy Faucher (General Partner, Forbion), Tom Greene (Senior Director, Corteva), and Siddarth Shrikanth (Director, Just Climate) will join Tropic’s Board of Directors, while Gustavo Bassetti, Rob Scott, Onno van de Stolpe, and Alex Wilson will serve as Board observers.

Founded in 2016 by Eyal Maori and Gilad Gershon, Tropic is a tropical seeds company focused on developing healthier, more robust, high-performing varieties of tropical crops. Its current core portfolio includes banana and rice, with an emphasis on disease resistance, higher yields, and environmentally sustainable traits.

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The company uses its proprietary GEiGS® platform alongside other gene-editing technologies, including CRISPR, to accelerate crop improvement. GEiGS® combines gene editing with gene silencing, a natural mechanism that enhances disease defense and regulates genes enabling Tropic to create crops resilient to threats such as Panama Disease, a destructive fungus affecting global banana production.

By leveraging GEiGS® and advanced gene-editing methods, Tropic aims to scale climate-resilient, high-performing tropical crops for global markets, supporting sustainable agriculture and food security.

These new gene targets may include endogenous genes that are silenced for crop improvement or exogenous genes from pathogens or pests to enhance disease and pest resistance.

The financing comes after a milestone year for Tropic, which launched the first new commercial banana varieties in over 75 years. Highlights include a non-browning banana, named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025, and an extended shelf-life variety that adds 12 extra days of green life boosting field yields, enabling new export routes, and reducing transport waste by up to 50%.

Tropic also reported major progress in its Panama Disease (TR4) resistance program, with plants shipped to establish a mother plantation, paving the way for commercial deployment starting in 2027.

With this funding, Tropic plans to expand large-scale plant production, strengthen global supply chains, and support commercial partnerships in key export markets. The investment will also accelerate the development of banana varieties naturally resistant to TR4 and Black Sigatoka, expand its rice portfolio and advance entry into other high-impact crops to tackle global food security challenges.

Gilad Gershon, CEO of Tropic, said, “This funding is a powerful endorsement of our team’s ability to bring breakthrough products to the hands of growers, exporters and consumers around the world. We are entering a new era, one where gene‑edited crops will significantly enhance food security and sustainability.

“2025 proved that our technology delivers – not in the distant future, but right now. With two banana varieties already on the market and demand outstripping supply, this investment enables us to scale global production and expand into new crops faster than ever before. We are excited to be partnering with our new investors as we progress our mission to build a world leading tropical seeds company.”