Insignum AgTech™ Successfully Closes its Series Seed Funding Round, Raising $2.4M Led by Innova Memphis
Atlanta, Indiana – September 16, 2025 – Insignum AgTech, a crop biotechnology company, today announced the successful closing of its Series Seed funding round, raising $2.4 M led by Innova Memphis, with participation from Elevate Ventures, Purdue Strategic Ventures, and others, including the first ever investment from the newly-formed FFA Ventures fund.
Insignum creates new genes out of plant DNA that enables crops to turn color in the early stages of a specific stress, such as disease. The first gene causes corn to turn purple at the site of infection seven or more days before symptoms of the disease are apparent. Research has proven it does not react to other stresses, such as insect attack or physical damage. Growers and agronomists are empowered to address the problem Exactly when the true problem begins, before visible symptoms, Precisely where to determine priority zones or fields, and Only if needed by using data driven decisions yielding improved ROI and confidence in crop management.
Insignum’s technology has been successfully field-tested for five years, the past three in collaboration with Beck’s Hybrids. Testing in 2025 includes an additional leading seed company and the farmer-owned Keystone Cooperative. Stakeholders were invited to witness Insignum’s revolutionary system in person at their 2025 Field Day on August 13th near Lebanon, Indiana.
"Insignum's ability to give growers a visual, actionable alert is revolutionary," said Dean Didato, partner at Innova Memphis. "By enabling precision agriculture to spot fungal pressure and treat appropriately 'Exactly when, Precisely where, and Only if' required, their technology is set to transform crop management and promote sustainable farming practices."
As a result of these successful field trials, Insignum will use funds to advance their first trait through their commercial pipeline. In addition, they will begin development of a disease-signaling trait for canola.
To deliver these milestones, Insignum has hired several new employees.
Chris Cook, Insignum’s Director of Commercial Operations, started in June. Chris rose to Syngenta’s™ Head of Business Development for North America, where he signed key partnerships with Fortune 500 food and fuel companies.
J. Pon Samuel, Ph.D., started in September as Insignum’s Chief Innovation Officer. Pon had an illustrious career as a Distinguished Laureate at Corteva Agriscience™, most notably as one of the inventors of their Enlist E3® crop trait.
“I’m excited about the years ahead for agriculture and Insignum,” said Kyle Mohler, Founder & CEO. “Challenging times lend themselves to finding new solutions. Data driven decisions based on advanced notification of crop stresses will be transformational for agriculture. Exactly when. Precisely where. Only if.”
About Insignum AgTech
Insignum is redefining plant stress mitigation by enabling crops to notify growers through visible pigmentation genes—unlocking early, accurate data driven analysis. By combining biotechnology, digital technology, and practical field applications, Insignum’s system helps growers make better decisions, sooner. Exactly when. Precisely where. Only if.
Insignum AgTech™ Appoints Chris Cook as Director, Commercial Operations
Atlanta, Indiana – September 9, 2025 – Insignum AgTech, a crop biotechnology company, is proud to announce the appointment of Chris Cook, Director of Commercial Operations effective June 1, 2025. Chris brings strength in a diversified background ranging from agronomy, stakeholder relations, business development and commercial success.
Chris Cook is a seasoned agribusiness and food systems executive with over two decades of leadership experience in advancing sustainable, innovative, and profitable growth across the global ag and food value chain. Currently serving as Director of Commercial Operations at Insignum Ag Tech, Chris leads commercial strategy, marketing, and go-to-market execution for cutting-edge platform solutions that bridge technology and agriculture.
Previously, Chris held senior leadership roles at Syngenta, including Head of Business Development for North America, where he architected breakthrough sustainability initiatives and strategic partnerships across biofuels, low-carbon cropping systems, and food chain innovation. He spearheaded the transformation of Syngenta’s Enogen business from an ethanol input to a profitable, sustainability-forward feed solution, signing key partnerships with Fortune 500 food and fuel companies.
As Director, Chris will expand the company’s groundbreaking platform that enables crops to visibly notify growers of stress—empowering growers with earlier, more accurate detection and actionable insights.
“We’re glad to welcome Chris to the team. He’s already delivering value for Insignum through his experience,” said Kyle Mohler, Founder and CEO of Insignum AgTech. “Chris elevates the delivery of our platform that helps manage crops — Exactly when. Precisely where. Only if.”
Chris will be based in New Ulm, Minnesota, where he will work closely with the Insignum team and commercial partners to advance Insignum’s groundbreaking strategy.
About Insignum AgTech
Insignum is redefining plant stress mitigation by enabling crops to notify growers through visible pigmentation genes—unlocking early, accurate data driven analysis. By combining biotechnology, digital technology, and practical field applications, Insignum’s system helps growers make better decisions, sooner. Exactly when. Precisely where. Only if.
Insignum AgTech™ Hosts 2025 Summer Field Day, Showcasing Groundbreaking Advances in Crop Health Monitoring – Exactly When. Precisely Where. Only if.
Atlanta, Indiana – September 3rd, 2025 — Insignum successfully hosted the 2025 Insignum Summer Field Day, an exclusive in-field event that brought together growers, agronomists, researchers, and ag-tech innovators to witness firsthand the future of plant disease detection.
Held in Thorntown, Indiana, the event featured live field demonstrations of Insignum’s inventive crop signaling platform—technology that enables plants to visibly indicate early signs of disease stress before conventional tools or visual inspection can detect symptoms.
“At Insignum, we’re allowing plants to notify the grower there’s a problem about 7 days before they’d otherwise know,” said Kyle Mohler, Founder and CEO of Insignum. “By engineering plants to use their natural pigments to signal stress, we’re empowering producers with the ability to respond faster and smarter—economically, agronomically, and sustainably.”
The event included:
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Live demonstrations of pigment-based signaling in action
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A panel discussion involving representatives from various segments of the ag industry
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Presentation of prior years’ results proving efficacy across seasons
Attendees experienced how Insignum’s technology offers a paradigm shift in crop management, allowing earlier intervention, reduced yield loss, and more efficient use of inputs. Chris Cook, Head of Commercial Operations commented, “We really wanted participants to remember one thing at the end of the day, EXACTLY WHEN. PRECISELY WHERE. ONLY IF. We think the technology we’ve developed for corn diseases, and soon for other crops as well will move growers from a guessing game around when and if to spray to an ROI based decision making process.”
The event was a unique convergence of innovation and application, giving participants a rare behind-the-scenes look at how advanced biotechnology empowers the reshaping the possibilities to monitor and manage crop health.
About Insignum AgTech
Insignum is redefining plant stress mitigation by enabling crops to notify growers through visible pigmentation genes—unlocking early, accurate data driven analysis. By combining biotechnology, digital technology, and practical field applications, Insignum’s system helps growers make better decisions, sooner. Exactly when. Precisely where. Only if.
Insignum AgTech™ Appoints Dr. Pon Samuel as Chief Innovation Officer
Atlanta, Indiana – August 26, 2025 – Insignum AgTech, a crop biotechnology company, is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Pon Samuel as Chief Innovation Officer, effective September 2, 2025. Dr. Samuel brings a distinguished track record in plant biotechnology and a proven ability to drive scientific innovation from concept to field-ready solutions.
Dr. Samuel joins Insignum following an illustrious career at Corteva™ Agriscience. He and his scientific teams created several commercialized products and was an inventor of the Enlist E3® crop trait. In 2024, 68% of US soybean acreage was planted with the Enlist E3 trait and, when combined with herbicide sales, generated $1.9 B revenue. He also led the Nanotechnology Platform, where his team developed a class of patented technology, including plant microspore genome editing. Dr. Samuel was honored as a Distinguished Laureate and received numerous accolades including the Dow® New Venture Concept Builder Award, Global R&D Innovation Award, Most Valuable IP Award, SACE Award, and the Peer Nominated Mentorship Award. His leadership and scientific vision has shaped some of the most impactful innovations in modern agricultural technology. He currently serves on the board of the global Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB).
As Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. Samuel will lead Insignum’s R&D strategy, working to expand the company’s groundbreaking platform that enables crops to visibly notify growers of stress—empowering growers with earlier, more accurate detection and actionable insights.
“Pon is a transformational leader whose expertise in plant science and passion for innovation align perfectly with our mission,” said Kyle Mohler, Founder and CEO of Insignum AgTech. “We are thrilled to welcome him as we continue redefining how growers interact with their crops — Exactly when. Precisely where. Only if.”
Dr. Samuel will be based in Atlanta, Indiana, where he will work closely with Insignum’s leadership and research teams to advance commercialization and deepen industry partnerships.
About Insignum AgTech
Insignum is redefining plant stress mitigation by enabling crops to notify growers through visible pigmentation genes—unlocking early, accurate data driven analysis. By combining biotechnology, digital technology, and practical field applications, Insignum’s system helps growers make better decisions, sooner. Exactly when. Precisely where. Only if.
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Hardtech: ZILA BioWorks, Jason Puracal
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Sportstech: Sizzle, Vijay Koduri
Software: Ascent Integrated Tech, Paul Couston
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