Robigo, a startup co-founded by Andee Wallace PhD ’20, is engineering naturally occurring microbes to fight crop pests as an alternative to chemical pesticides and existing microbial products, according to a September 3, 2026 report from MIT News. Its ARGO platform uses RNA interference, rather than the CRISPR approach the founders first explored, to target plant pathogens.

In field trials across five states, the company reported results comparable to chemical pesticides with soybeans and lettuce in the Midwest and West. In one trial last summer comparing Robigo’s product with another commercial microbial product, Robigo reported a 250 percent increase in crop yield. Wallace said a grower told her that a disease reducing lettuce yield by even 25 percent could make hand-harvesting uneconomical.

Wallace said the company was expanding fourfold in 2026 and planned faster expansion the following year, with partners and additional crops. The report describes company statements and early trial results, not regulatory approval or commercial availability.