Ohalo Genetics, a United States-based agricultural biotechnology startup, is making waves with its innovative approach to potato farming. The company, focused on developing ‘Boosted Breeding’ technology, has successfully created the world’s first high-yield hybrid true potato seeds (TPS).
The innovative approach is set to revolutionise potato farming globally by eliminating the traditional tuber replanting process.
In the latest episode of the popular podcast ‘The All-In Podcast’, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ohalo Genetics, David Friedberg, shared details about their groundbreaking achievement in developing the world’s first potato seeds.
Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Sacks engaged in a lively conversation with David Friedberg in the latest episode of the podcast, released on February 7.
Ohalo’s innovative approach involves planting a handful of seeds instead of 5,000 pounds of chopped-up potato tubers, which could emerge as a more financially viable option for farmers.
“We’re very excited to market this spring, and farmers are already planting it in the field,” said David Freeberg.
True potato seed
Ohalo’s Boosted Breeding is a revolutionary plant-breeding technology that enables the production of genetically uniform true potato seeds for the first time, replacing the need to plant ‘seed potatoes’ (tubers).
It allows farmers to move away from planting potato tubers (replanted from previous harvests) and instead directly sow genetically uniform true potato seeds, benefiting from varieties with unprecedented agronomic performance. It represents one of the most significant leaps in modern agricultural science.
Inspiration from an archaeological site
The name ‘Ohalo’ is inspired by an archaeological site on the Sea of Galilee, where 26,000-year-old clay pots filled with seeds were discovered. “We named the company Ohalo after that archaeological site,” he added.
He said, “Here’s your quick science corner for the day. They found a village called Ohalo. It was an archaeological dig on the Sea of Galilee, 26 000 years old and in this archaeological dig, they found these little clay pots filled with seed. So, it predated all of our understanding of agriculture and plant breeding and seed storage. It really reinvented our understanding of human history with agriculture. So, we named the company Ohalo after that archaeological site.”
Ohalo – about the company
Ohalo Genetics is an agricultural biotech company, founded in 2019 by David Friedberg and Judson Ward. Based in Aptos, California, the startup focuses on accelerating plant breeding through its groundbreaking technology called ‘Boosted Breeding’.
Boosted Breeding is a plant reproduction technology designed to accelerate crop improvement and increase agricultural productivity. The Boosted Breeding technology of the company creates genetically identical offspring by merging parental genomes.
“Boosted Breeding provides unprecedented improvements in crop yields that may otherwise take millennia to achieve with traditional breeding methods, with the potential to realise unimaginable productivity gains for farmers, improve humanity’s access to calories, and reduce the global footprint of agriculture,” says the official website of Ohalo Genetics.