From: allin
Ohalo has spent five years developing a new agricultural technology called “boosted breeding,” which they are now publicly announcing as their patents begin to be published [00:40:40], [00:42:02]. The company aims to radically transform crop yield, improve plant health and size, and ultimately impact productivity, farmer revenue, food costs, and sustainability globally [00:41:36], [00:41:44].
Boosted Breeding Technology
The core theory behind boosted breeding is to alter plant reproduction so that parent plants pass 100% of their genes to their offspring, rather than the typical 50% from each parent [00:41:07], [00:43:09]. This means the offspring inherit all genes from both the mother and the father, resulting in double the DNA [00:43:17].
Currently, traditional plant breeding can take decades to combine desirable traits, like disease resistance and drought resistance, into a single plant [00:42:23]. Ohalo’s method involves applying specific proteins to parent plants to “switch off” the reproductive circuits that normally cause gene splitting [00:42:53].
The process of having double the chromosomes is called polyploidy, which naturally occurs in some species like wheat (hexaploid, six sets), potatoes (tetraploid, four sets), and strawberries (octoploid, eight sets) [00:44:27], [00:45:01]. This technology is applicable only to plants, not animals [00:45:17], [00:45:20].
The more beneficial genes a plant has, the more tools it has to survive and thrive in various conditions, leading to healthier, bigger plants with greater yields [00:45:27], [00:54:50].
Results and Examples
Ohalo has collected data showing significant yield gains, ranging from 50% to 100% or even more in some plants [00:43:31], [00:43:49].
- Arabidopsis: Experiments with Arabidopsis, a common research weed, showed that boosted offspring were much larger, healthier, and had bigger leaves than their parent plants [00:43:53], [00:44:09]. Seed production also increased by over 40% [00:46:00].
- Potatoes: Potato, the third-largest source of calories globally, has shown “crazy results” [00:46:04], [00:46:07].
- Two parent potatoes, one yielding 33 grams and the other 9 grams, produced a boosted offspring yielding 682 grams [00:46:34].
- The boosted potato was much larger than its parents and even a typical market variety [00:46:20], [00:46:27].
- The primary improvement is in yield (number of potatoes per acre) rather than individual potato size, leading to less water and land use [00:51:52], [00:52:09].
- Ohalo’s system enables the creation of “perfect seed” for potatoes, which currently lack a significant seed industry because conventional potato seeds are genetically different from each other [00:48:49], [00:49:10]. Planting seed saves farmers about 20% in revenue, reduces disease risk, and makes management easier [00:49:30].
- This technology is being applied to major potato lines, including russet varieties [00:47:56], [00:47:59].
- Corn: Ohalo has also achieved bigger corn kernels and cobs, which has been published in their patent [00:52:24], [00:52:27], [00:52:30].
Broader Implications
The ability to significantly increase yield with less water, land, and energy, while potentially reducing fertilizer use per pound produced, will have a massive impact on the future of food [00:50:04], [00:50:08], [00:50:11], [00:50:15]. It also opens up the possibility of adapting crops to new environments where they currently cannot grow, helping to address global malnutrition [00:53:56], [00:54:02].
Ohalo uses quantitative genomics and AI models to predict which plant crosses will yield the best growth or health outcomes, from hundreds of thousands or millions of possibilities [00:55:21], [00:55:28], [00:55:34].
Business Model and Investment
Ohalo is already revenue-generating [00:56:17]. Their business model involves partnering with existing seed businesses and genetics companies to improve their products [00:55:56]. In markets like potato, where a seed industry doesn’t exist, they are building their own business to produce and sell potato seed [00:56:06].
The company has invested over $50 million to date, operating in stealth for five years [00:51:16], [00:51:24]. While they have filed for IP protection, their competitive advantage is more reliant on “trade secrets” and building a continuous “moat” by constantly improving their varieties [00:58:16], [00:58:31].
Key Personnel
Jud Ward, Ohalo’s co-founder and CTO, conceived the idea of boosted breeding years ago. Ward previously ran molecular breeding at Driscoll’s, and many former Driscoll’s employees now work at Ohalo [00:57:37], [00:57:41], [00:57:51], [00:57:56].
Ohalo is actively hiring and encourages interested individuals to visit their careers page at ohalogenetics.com [01:40:13].