Monsanto Partners with Atomwise to Accelerate Crop Protection via AI

Monsanto, the world’s leading producer of genetically modified crops, has announced a strategic partnership with Atomwise, a cutting‑edge AI‑driven drug discovery firm. The collaboration aims to harness deep‑learning algorithms to identify new molecules that can protect crops more rapidly and cost‑effectively.

Unlike traditional high‑throughput screening, Atomwise’s platform predicts the activity of thousands of compounds in silico, dramatically narrowing the search for promising candidates. Although the technology is still relatively new, it already boasts partnerships with research institutions such as Stanford University and UC San Diego.

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According to Monsanto, bringing a typical crop‑protection product from concept to market takes roughly 11 years and costs upwards of $250 million. By applying AI, the partnership expects to shave years off the development timeline and reduce expenses, while increasing the likelihood of discovering multiple mechanisms of action against pests and diseases.

“Each growing season, farmers worldwide confront yield‑robbing pests and diseases, yet the average crop‑protection product takes up to 11 years and more than $250 million to commercialize,” said Jeremy Williams, Monsanto’s Agricultural Productivity Innovations Lead. “Discovering new solutions is critical, and this collaboration will help bring much‑needed crop‑protection solutions to farmers faster.”

Beyond agriculture, AI is already revolutionizing medical research, where deep learning and big‑data analytics shorten the time needed to identify disease treatments and can help prevent future outbreaks such as Ebola or AIDS.