SugaROx, an agri-biotech spinout in Oxford, has raised an additional €1.1 million (£1 million) in a seed round extension to advance its crop-enhancing biostimulant. The round includes £400k from The Mosaic Company and £600k from angel investors and funds, including UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Regenerate Ventures. Established in 2021 as a spinout from the University of Oxford and Rothamsted Research, SugaROx is creating next-gen biostimulants to optimize plant metabolism. Its initial product, based on Trehalose-6-Phosphate (T6P), aims to boost crop growth, yield, and resilience under stress, addressing the demand for sustainable agriculture inputs.
“In response to increasing demand for product samples, we decided to accelerate our manufacturing timeline, fast-tracking the shift from in-house lab production to a pilot facility. The Innovate UK grant and additional investment allows us to do that,” said CEO Mark Robbins.
T6P influences key metabolic signals in plants, inhibiting the SnRK1 enzyme that triggers stress responses. The delivery system, developed through two decades of research, allows this otherwise immobile molecule to be efficiently absorbed through the leaf and activated within the plant.
With a £2.4 million grant from Innovate UK secured earlier, the latest funding supports pilot-scale production and field trials. SugaROx plans to launch its wheat-focused biostimulant in the UK by 2027 and in the EU by 2028, with preparations for the US and Brazilian markets underway.
“Our existing investors quickly backed the seed round extension, which we are delighted to complete with Mosaic as a strategic partner. We aim to transform the biostimulants industry with science-based solutions in collaboration with others,” added Robbins.
Dr. Cara Griffiths, CTO and co-founder, stated: “With Mosaic, we gain access to an established network of trial sites for US validation of our product. Mosaic will provide access to TruResponse, a digital platform to visualize field results, valuable for our research.”
Biostimulants, enhancing plant functions, are one of the fastest-growing crop input segments, growing at 11% CAGR. Unlike fertilizers or pesticides, they activate plant systems to improve stress tolerance, nutrient uptake, and productivity.
SugaROx aims to lead this movement using molecular tools that integrate deep plant science with farming outcomes. Its scalable delivery mechanism for metabolic regulators addresses a key bottleneck in biostimulant adoption: effective absorption and activation.