5Metis

About 5Metis

5Metis, Inc. operates as a specialized intellectual property development firm focused on resolving the critical issue of fungicide resistance for agricultural growers across the globe.

Established in 2021 and headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, the company was formed through the unification of the technological platforms from Boragen, Inc. and AgriMetis, LLC. This strategic combination brought together expertise in boron-based small molecule discovery with natural product synthetic biology to create novel molecules for the agrichemical sector. The leadership team consists of agricultural industry veterans, including CEO and CSO Brian Green, a co-founder of the legacy company AgriMetis, and COO Steve Tuttle, who previously held senior roles at Dow AgroSciences. This leadership structure was established in June 2024 as part of a planned succession.

The company's core technology is its proprietary natural product screening and boron chemistry (NAB) platform. This platform develops compounds with new modes of action, which are essential as many existing fungicides, relying on mechanisms commercialized over 50 years ago, are failing due to pathogen resistance. By introducing different biochemical modes of action, 5Metis's products can break this resistance, manage disease more effectively, and substantially lower the required application rates. Field trials have demonstrated the platform's success in creating products that control significant agricultural diseases like banana black sigatoka, wheat Septoria, and rice blast at much lower application rates than current standards.

5Metis follows a business model centered on discovery and early-stage development. The company's objective is to identify and de-risk promising compounds with attractive biological profiles before collaborating with larger channel partners for late-stage development and commercialization. This strategy is supported by significant investment, including an oversubscribed $10 million Series A round in October 2021 and a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop effective, low-cost fungicides. Total funding has reached at least $11.6 million across several rounds from investors such as Ospraie Ag Science, Mountain Group Partners, and 1855 Capital.