ReGen 🤝 Foray
ReGen partners with Foray to unlock the unique biology and diversity of the entire plant kingdom
ReGen Ventures is thrilled to lead Foray’s $3.04 million seed round with participation from Superorganism, The Engine, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, Understorey Ventures, Tet Ventures, SBXI Fund, and Service Provider Capital to build biomanufacturing tools to protect and restore natural ecosystems.
The background
Trees and forests contribute over a trillion dollars of inputs to our global economy annually and touch virtually every aspect of our daily lives, from the air we breathe to the textiles we wear, the skin care products we apply, and much more. However, growing global demands for tree-derived products, the effects of climate change, and intensifying natural disasters are placing forests under strain like never before.
The solution
Enter Foray, a Cambridge-based company building biomanufacturing tools to protect and restore forests. The company’s database-driven platform makes plant cell culture accessible across applications, delivering harvest-free molecules, materials, and seeds. Foray grows bio-better, plant-based products at 100x production speeds fostering supply chain resilience and enduring access to critical resources.
The visionaries
Foray was founded in 2022 by Ashley Beckwith after completing her PhD in mechanical engineering at MIT. Ashley’s multidisciplinary research spanned bioengineering, biomaterials, and advanced manufacturing to bring plant production into the lab. We have been excited to see her expand her team with team members from organizations like Moderna, Ring Therapeutics, The Broad Institute, The Engine, and more.
Where to from here
We envision a world where Foray helps decouple agriculture and forestry from land use - freeing up precious natural capital to restore natural carbon sinks and rich sources of biodiversity.
Check out Foray’s TechCrunch exclusive and open roles here.