As the world faces the unprecedented challenges of climate change, dwindling water supplies, rapid population growth and shrinking farmland, ensuring a stable global food supply has never been more urgent. At the heart of this effort is innovation in plant breeding.
Phenome Networks, an Israeli company which, over the past decade, has emerged as a global leader in Data Management systems for seed companies.
Developing new plant varieties is lengthy, complex and costly, often taking years. While farmers typically focus on a few varieties across large plots, seed companies must manage hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of tiny experimental plots every season, each of them representing a different variety or breeding line. The plots must be meticulously documented. Quality and yield traits are monitored, DNA is sampled and complex genetic lineages are traced. Precision is critical as a single error in planting
or data collection can derail years of research.
To streamline this painstaking process, Phenome Networks has created PhenomOne, a platform designed specifically for the intricacies of modern plant breeding. While competitors have built rigid and cumbersome systems, the Israeli team took a different route: lean, agile and tech-forward, with a user-friendly interface and maximum flexibility. The result is a powerful, centralized ERP-like system built for the seed industry, enabling streamlined management of seed inventories, experimental plots, lab data and genetic information all in one place that is completely secured.
The system is being used today by hundreds of clients worldwide, from top universities and international research institutes to major commercial seed companies. Far more than an operational platform, it serves as the backbone for managing the most valuable intellectual property in the industry: genetic data.
Company clients grow an immense variety of crops — vegetables, grains, flowers, fruits, trees — all supported by a dedicated Israeli team. The platform is currently overseeing hundreds of thousands of field trials and millions of experimental plots across the globe.
With its dedicated mobile application, field observations, images and measurements can be collected directly on-site and synced in real time. These data create a comprehensive, integrated view. Field results are connected with laboratory analyses and genetic databases, enabling advanced statistical analyses and clear graphic presentations that provide essential insights for researchers, breeders and policymakers alike.
Over time, PhenomOne has become mission-critical. It is now almost impossible to manage breeding processes without it. The company's next goal, however, is even more ambitious. It is integrating advanced algorithmics and artificial intelligence to predict plant performance based on genomic data. This breakthrough could eliminate the need for full growing cycles in early research stages, drastically shortening the time taken to develop new, high-performing varieties.It is a shift that represents a major leap from traditional trial-and-error methods to data-driven, predictive breeding in real time.
Once a humble Israeli startup with a bold vision, Phenome Networks now stands at the global crossroads of high-tech and agriculture. In so doing, it is cementing Israel's position in shaping the future of global food production.
"Our vision is simple: to empower every breeder, researcher and agronomist with smarter tools," says Dr. Yaniv Semel, CEO and co-founder of Phenome Networks. "We believe that technological innovation is the key to securing global food security, and Phenome Networks is proud to be at the heart of that mission."
In collaboration with Phenome Networks
