Converge Bio Secures $2.5M Grant to expand its fast-track AI gene discovery capabilities from pharma to growing climate-resilient crops

Backed by a Gates Foundation grant for agricultural development, the initiative aims to accelerate the discovery of crop genes linked to yield and resilience, strengthening the foundation's goal of supporting smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, dealing with growing pressure to produce sustainably in a changing climate BOSTON and TEL AVIV, Israel , June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Converge Bio , the Generative AI Lab for the Life Sciences, announces it has received a multi-year, $2.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation to extend its drug modeling platform to crop genomics. The grant supports the development of a multimodal, long-context foundation model that can identify causal genetic variants associated with key agricultural traits, such as yield and climate resilience. The initiative extends Converge's platform from human health into crop science, helping farmers navigate increasing climate volatility while supporting long-term global food security. As climate volatility intensifies, global food systems are under growing pressure to adapt. Yet crop genomes remain one of the most complex and least understood systems in biology. Although scientists have identified plants with specific traits that help them withstand harsher climate conditions, isolating and applying those ... Full story available on Benzinga.com