Heritable Agriculture has secured a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the development of climate-resilient crops for smallholder farmers across Africa. The funding will support the company’s efforts to integrate artificial intelligence with advanced omics technologies—such as genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics—to identify and breed crop varieties that can withstand extreme weather, drought, and emerging pests driven by climate change. The initiative aims to empower smallholder farmers, who make up a significant portion of Africa’s agricultural workforce, by delivering high-yielding, resilient seeds tailored to local environmental conditions. By leveraging AI to analyze vast biological datasets, Heritable Agriculture can dramatically shorten the time it takes to develop new crop strains compared to traditional breeding methods. The Gates Foundation’s investment underscores a growing focus on using cutting-edge science to address food security challenges in vulnerable regions. Heritable Agriculture will use the grant to expand its research partnerships with African agricultural institutions, enhance data collection in the field, and scale up its AI-driven breeding platforms. The company’s approach combines machine learning models trained on genetic and environmental data with real-world farming insights to predict which plant traits will thrive under specific climate scenarios. This precision breeding strategy not only increases crop resilience but also helps maintain nutritional quality and yield potential. By focusing on locally adapted crops such as sorghum, millet, and cassava, Heritable Agriculture aims to deliver sustainable solutions that support both farmers and ecosystems. The project is expected to benefit millions of smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa, improving livelihoods and strengthening food systems in the face of a changing climate.