Vylor Partners with Rainbow Crops to Develop AI-Driven Gene-Edited Corn Traits

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 21, Vylor and Belgian agricultural technology company Rainbow Crops announced a collaboration to develop new corn traits using artificial intelligence and multiplex gene editing. The two parties will use Rainbow Crops' Trait Foundry platform to screen and validate more adaptable corn hybrid materials for environmental stresses such as heat, drought, and flooding.

The core technical approach of this collaboration combines AI-assisted design, multiplex gene editing, precision breeding, and automated phenotyping. Rainbow Crops states that its platform can simultaneously handle multiple interacting gene loci and validate plant performance through high-throughput phenotyping facilities and field trials, for the development of complex agronomic traits controlled by multiple genes.

Vylor plans to apply the platform to its corn trait development system, with key focus areas including stress resistance, input use efficiency, and yield stability. Vylor stated that multiplex gene editing can implement a large number of gene edits within the same R&D pipeline, then screen effective combinations through phenotyping facilities and field trials, thereby accelerating complex traits into subsequent breeding and product validation stages.

Rainbow Crops was founded in 2025, incubated by the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, and its Trait Foundry has previously conducted early validation in corn materials. The company recently completed a €9.7 million seed round financing, with participation from Corteva's Corteva Catalyst; after Vylor spins off from Corteva on October 1, 2026, this investment will be included in the Vylor Edge investment portfolio.

Vylor is currently expanding its corn gene editing product pipeline. The company has disclosed subsequent technology directions such as multi-disease-resistant corn, some of which are planned to enter the market after completing regulatory and commercial validation. This collaboration with Rainbow Crops corresponds to the front-end trait discovery and validation stage, and the two parties have not yet disclosed specific gene targets, the number of first-batch candidate lines, field trial locations, or a commercialization timeline.