Wild Bioscience, a University of Oxford spinout that designs improved crops for resilient agriculture, has acquired F1 Seed, an independent wheat breeding business led by Bill Angus. The acquisition unites Wild Bio’s evolutionary biology, gene editing, and AI-led trait discovery with F1 Seed’s decades of breeding excellence and diverse germplasm pipeline, positioning the combined business to design, breed, and deliver new wheat varieties end-to-end.
By joining forces with F1 Seed, Wild Bio becomes a fully integrated, end-to-end UK seed company, positioning it to challenge agrochemical multinationals and directly address the escalating crisis in British agriculture. UK wheat yields have remained flat for 30 years, while input costs have soared and climate change has introduced unprecedented volatility. In 2025, this contributed to a 13% drop in yield compared to the 10-year average, and approximately one third of UK farms are currently loss-making.
Wild Bio uses evolutionary biology and AI tools to identify genetic solutions that evolution has already validated in the wild, applying precision breeding to activate those traits in crops like wheat. The combination is made possible by England’s Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations, in force since November 2025, which create a route to market for targeted gene edits that could have arisen through traditional breeding.
Wild Bio was founded by Ross Hendron and Steve Kelly in 2021 and has raised $75 million from The Ellison Institute of Technology, Oxford Science Enterprises, Braavos Capital, and the University of Oxford. F1 Seed was founded by Bill Angus in 2014 and is based in Suffolk; Angus previously built and ran the UK’s largest wheat breeding program at Nickerson and Limagrain, introducing varieties including Claire, Einstein, Istabraq, and Crusoe.
KEY QUOTES:
“Wheat is Britain’s biggest crop and feeds a fifth of humanity. But on a changing planet, growing it is only getting harder. That’s the challenge we exist to meet. As a new independent seed business that brings breeding and gene editing together, we can focus on the traits that growers genuinely need and design towards them with precision.”
Dr. Ross Hendron, Co-Founder and CEO, Wild Bio
“This is the most exciting news for wheat growers since Cambridge University established the Plant Breeding Institute in 1912. Now over a century later, armed with an array of novel traits, we are well placed to move wheat breeding into a new and exciting era.”
Bill Angus, Founder and Director, F1 Seed
“By acquiring F1 Seed, Wild Bioscience evolves from a trait discovery and licensing business to a full seed company. This gives Wild Bioscience all the capabilities of a larger seed company with the agility of a start-up, which is extremely rare in the seed industry and a clear differentiator from the incumbents.”
Dr. Stuart Harrison, Chief Business Officer, Wild Bio
