Biotope by VIB Backs New Wave of Startups Tackling Food Resilience and Crop Sustainability
Biotope by VIB, a Belgian biotech startup incubator and early-stage investor founded by the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), has unveiled its seventh cohort of startups. The incubator has selected three early-stage ventures from Brazil, the UK, and Belgium that are pioneering new solutions for food resilience and sustainable agriculture.
This announcement follows a competitive three-week basecamp, where ten shortlisted startups received intensive support to refine their business models, validate scientific strategies, and gauge market readiness. From this process, three startups emerged, each securing a €350,000 package that includes direct investment, tailored mentoring, and access to VIB’s scientific expertise and partner network.
Launched in 2022, Biotope by VIB is designed to accelerate biotech startups focused on planetary health from proof of concept to seed-round readiness within 18 months. By providing hands-on guidance in regulation, intellectual property, and scale-up strategies, the program helps founders build commercially viable, scientifically rigorous businesses – while offering early investors de-risked, investment-ready opportunities.
The newly selected ventures span microbial crop protection, nature-based pest control, and next-generation food ingredients:
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Typcal (São Paulo): Develops mycoprotein using biomass fermentation, with proprietary fungi strains that grow faster and on more diverse feedstocks, enabling scalable, sustainable protein and fiber production.
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BugBiome (Cambridge): Harnesses naturally occurring microbial ecosystems to protect crops, offering a pest-control method that deters harmful insects while preserving beneficial species.
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B-COS (Ghent): A university spin-off designing nature-inspired COS molecules that activate plants’ natural defenses, aiming to replace chemical pesticides with safe, bio-based alternatives.
Reflecting Biotope’s emphasis on diversity in leadership, two of the three companies are women-led. Over the next year and a half, the startups will receive hands-on guidance from Biotope’s multidisciplinary network of scientific, legal, IP, and business experts, while also gaining access to VIB’s advanced research facilities.
They join a growing portfolio of Biotope-backed startups now active across seven countries, which have collectively raised nearly €30 million in follow-on funding. Notable alumni include AmphiStar, Zymofix, B’ZEOS, and PFx Biotech, each of which has successfully closed seed rounds.
Annick Verween, Head, Biotope: ”This cohort reflects what Biotope was built to do – support ambitious teams applying breakthrough science to solve urgent food and agriculture challenges. Each of these startups has the potential to reshape their field, and we’re proud to help them lay the right foundations.”
Applications for Cohort 8 are open and interested startups can apply until October 16, 2025.
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