Plant power: 30. How Neoplants is taking on air purification one plant at a time

In January last year, Neoplants (a leading bioengineering startup) released an analysis of the performance of its first product, Neo P1, a bioengineered Pothos plant designed to capture and recycle harmful pollutants from indoor air as compared with common houseplants plants studied by NASA in 1989.

By altering plant genetics, this company has come up with a way to create a plant that will remove and recycle harmful pollutants from/in the air, with the combined effectiveness of up to 30 of the most popular air purifying houseplants. Starting at $179 this is not a plant you would want to kill by mistake, but if you want to buy it, there is a waiting list.

Neoplants uses bioengineering and directed evolution to create “Plants with a Purpose,” beginning with the first plant built to fight air pollution: Neo P1. The world’s most efficient natural air purification system, the Neo P1, captures and recycles harmful VOCs from indoor air.

The company was founded by CEO Lionel Mora and CTO Patrick Torbey in 2018. Born out of the largest global startup incubator, Station F, and including eleven PhDs, the company is headquartered in Paris, France, with partner growing facilities in the United States. Neoplants is backed by leading investors and advisors, including True Ventures, Heartcore, Collaborative Fund, Partech and Entrepreneur First. The team includes world-class bioengineers from various backgrounds to put nature at the heart of innovation.

Neoplants has raised more than $20 million in funding from leading technology investors, including True Ventures, Heartcore, Collaborative Fund, Partech and Entrepreneur First. This early funding played a critical role in the research and development of Neo P1, including the construction of a new 12,000-square-foot laboratory, a cutting-edge facility explicitly created for engineering the future of plants.

We know that plants are so important for the future of the world, whether it is as part of our diet or in combating the climate crisis. It is refreshing to see companies turning to nature first for solutions, combining what we already have with science and technology to create new outcomes.

We love this idea, and can’t wait to see how it develops!