Breaking the Ice: CryoBio joins Rev
CryoBio, founded by Murli Manohar and Abe Pressman, is an agricultural biotech company that is developing sprays that shield crops from frost damage. Freezing weather can pose a significant risk to certain plants, which is why CryoBio aims to make frost protection for agricultural products affordable and accessible, and feed millions of people worldwide.
What is the “origin story” behind your company?
In late 2023, Abe Pressman joined the Marble studio, driven by an ambition to tackle significant challenges in agriculture. He envisioned addressing the critical and escalating issue of frost in farming, which poses substantial risks to crop viability. Murli Manohar discovered this initiative through a LinkedIn post from Marble, which was actively seeking a co-founder to help refine and advance the project. With his extensive background in agriculture and a deep understanding of farmers’ challenges, Murli recognized frost as the industry’s most pressing yet frequently overlooked threat and joined as a founder.
This project resonates deeply on a personal level for both of us. Murli grew up on a struggling rural farm, and after enduring years of various agricultural setbacks, he committed himself to developing transformative technologies that could empower future farmers. Before joining CryoBio, he co-founded a successful Agtech startup, where he translated his discovery into a market-ready product as the CTO.
What customer need is your company attempting to address?
More than half of the farmers we’ve talked to list frost as the number one threat to their crops. For most, this is a major financial risk; for many, it also means significant headache or unpredictability.
To the apple and grape farmers who make up our initial market, good protection means solution that can protect against frosts up to 5 °C below their critical kill temperature, which is far more than existing tech can deliver For farmers who already use anti-frost machines, our tech needs to be cheaper than the operating cost of their existing tech; that is, significantly below $1000 / acre.
For all other farmers who can’t afford existing tech, affordability becomes an even bigger issue. Farmers need a solution that stops frost in its tracks, but it also needs to be affordable (we’re targeting our affordability at <20% of expected frost damage, based on interviews), and easy to use, with no specialized equipment or intensive labor needed.
Do you have any recent company milestones or accomplishments you would like to share?
Completed NSF I-Corps for initial customer discovery, speaking to over 100 growers and experts on 5 continents.
Received 5 LOIs from Orchard and Vineyards NY, and interest from 10 growers in India for testing and adopting the technology, and expect to have 5-10 additional LOIs by June.
Validated market need and size, developed market entry plan, refined business model & commercialization plan.
Got into the incubator space at Cornell University, which puts our R&D team at the center of the world’s #1 agricultural research community.
Hired a senior scientist and a technician, and initiated work to develop a large-scale production process, formulation, and testing on relevant crops.
We have added several seasoned advisors from an agricultural and business background.
Won 2nd place and cash prize in the prestigious BenDaniel Venture Challenge organized by Big Red Ventures at Cornell.
Where do you envision your company a year from now?
In one year, we aim to develop a minimum viable product (MVP) and plan to validate this technology in collaboration with New York growers while scaling biomanufacturing to support these field trials.
In the long term, we aspire to be the leading provider of innovative and affordable frost protection solutions for farmers worldwide. We strive to reduce crop losses, enhance farmer profitability, and ultimately help feed hundreds of millions of people across the globe. If our company succeeds, we foresee significantly impacting global agriculture while improving farmers’ livelihoods in over 70 countries.