Quercus Biosolutions Raises $5M Seed for AI Crop Protection

Fundraise Insider tracks newly funded startups each week and delivers verified B2B leads list of C-suite contacts straight to your inbox, so you reach the right people while the funding is still fresh. See pricing.

Quercus Biosolutions, a St. Louis agricultural biotechnology company, has closed an oversubscribed $5 million seed round to build a new class of crop protection compounds. Serra Ventures led the financing, which was announced in late July 2026.

Starshot Capital, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Flyover Capital, Rootstock Capital, the Iowa Corn Opportunities Fund, AgriCap Fund, Kentucky Corn Plus, AgVentures Alliance and Ag Startup Engine also took part. Quercus was founded in 2024 by agriculture industry veterans Jon Lightner, who holds a PhD, and Matt Crisp.

The company designs its compounds with generative AI, engineering mini proteins to bind validated biological targets while aiming for the effectiveness and cost profile of conventional chemistry. Quercus says it has five active programs, with several field trials already underway.