Google’s “moonlight factory” X has announced the launch of its latest spin-off: Heritable Agriculture, a machine learning-powered startup dedicated to optimizing crop growth.
Heritable Agriculture highlights the natural efficiency of plants, describing them as “self-assembling, solar-powered, carbon-negative machines that feed on sunlight and water.” However, modern agriculture places a heavy burden on the environment, contributing 25% to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and consuming huge amounts of groundwater. Additionally, the use of pesticides and fertilizers can lead to soil erosion and water pollution.
To address these challenges, Heritable applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze plant genomes and identify genetic combinations that improve crop yield, reduce water consumption, and increase carbon storage. By leveraging large data sets, the company aims to modernize farming techniques and bring agriculture into the 21st century.
The Vision Behind Heritable
Heritable was founded by Brad Zamft, a PhD in physics and former Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Fellow. Before joining Google X in 2018, Zamft was chief scientific officer at TL Biolabs. Once at Google X, he quickly took the lead on what would become Heritable.
“I was given a wide berth to work on whatever I wanted, as long as I could scale it up to a Google-sized business,” Zamft explained. “Optimizing plants became my focus and gained momentum with leadership.”
Heritable has tested its AI-powered breeding models on thousands of plants grown in a specialized growth chamber at Google X’s headquarters in the Bay Area, with additional field trials conducted in California, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
AI-Powered Crop Optimization: No Genetic Modification
Unlike traditional genetic engineering, Heritable does not use CRISPR or genetic modification—at least not yet. The company is focused on conventional breeding methods, identifying optimal plant traits and improving the cultivation process itself.
“We are not developing gene-edited plants, and genetic modification is not on our roadmap,” Zamft said. “Gene editing may come at some point, but for now we are addressing the huge unmet need for better breeding — crossing a mother plant and a father plant without relying on biotechnology to modify the crop.”
Funding and future plans
Heritable has raised seed funding from FTW Ventures, Mythos Ventures and SVG Ventures, and Google also holds an undisclosed equity stake in the company. While Zamft did not disclose commercialization timelines or specific partnerships, he emphasized that the company’s immediate focus is on bringing its technology to market.
The spinoff is part of Google X’s recent strategy shift, with the incubator aggressively launching independent companies under the leadership of Astro Teller. Last January, Google laid off dozens of employees at X, signaling a renewed focus on developing commercially viable projects like Heritable.
