For the past six years CNBC has created a “Disruptor 50” list, that features private companies with innovations changing the world. This year, three agricultural companies made the list: Indigo Agriculture, Ginkgo Bioworks and Apeel Sciences.
“Unseating corporate giants is no easy feat,” according to CNBC. “We ranked those venture capital-backed companies doing the best job.”
In sum, the 50 companies CNBC lists have raised nearly $78 billion in venture capital, with a market value of more than $350 billion, CNBC reports from PitchBook data.
Ag companies breaking the mold:
# 18. Indigo Agriculture creates seed treatments for corn, wheat, soybeans, rice and cotton with biologicals. CNBC reports Indigo grew from 14 employees in 2015 to 350 today in the U.S., Argentina, Australia and Brazil.
# 21. Ginkgo Bioworks designs custom microbes by “designing and printing DNA.” The company is valued at $1.4 billion and recently entered a partnership with Bayer. Ginkgo focuses row crops and is researching how corn, wheat and rice can make their own nitrogen, according the CNBC.
# 48. Apeel Sciences is working to stop food waste from rotting. CNBC says the company developed an edible substance that can be applied to fruits and vegetables that doubles the crops’ lifespan without refrigeration.
To see the complete list see CNBC’s Meet the 2018 CNBC Distruptor 50 Companies.
