Friedberg's Gene-Editing Company

Extracted Attributes

• CEO

  David Friedberg

• CTO

  Jud Ward

• Incubator

  The Production Board (TPB)

• Founding Date

  2019

• Official Name

  Ohalo Genetics

• Funding Amount

  Over $100 million USD

• Core Technologies

  CRISPR-Cas9, Multiplex editing, Polyploidy (Boosted Breeding)

• Primary Objective

  Increasing crop yields and reducing land and water usage

Timeline

• The company is formed within The Production Board incubator. (Source: Web Search (AgFunderNews))

  2019-01-01

• The Production Board raises $300 million and names Ohalo Genetics as one of its key foundry companies. (Source: Web Search (CNBC))

  2021-07-30

• David Friedberg announces he is stepping down from general investing to become the full-time CEO of the company. (Source: Document 28121141-2767-4e7a-8206-a64e02347ba7)

  2023-12-08

• The company reveals its 'Boosted Breeding' technology and confirms it has raised over $100 million in funding. (Source: Web Search (AgFunderNews))

  2024-01-01

David Friedberg

David Albert Friedberg (born June 6, 1980) is a South African-American entrepreneur, businessman, and angel investor. He founded The Climate Corporation and served as its chief executive, overseeing its $1.1 billion sale to Monsanto in 2013, the first unicorn transaction in the emerging agricultural technology sector. Friedberg later founded and leads The Production Board (TPB). He co-hosts the All-In podcast with David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, and Chamath Palihapitiya. Across his career he has contributed to 32 patents. He invests as an angel in technology, food, agriculture, and life sciences startups with 16 exits.

Web Search Results

• David Friedberg's Alphabet-backed Production Board raised $300 ...

  In a blog post Friday announcing the new investment, Friedberg is naming five foundry companies that TPB launched and turned into businesses. They include Pattern Ag, which is using precision engineering to help farmers make their land more productive; UR Labs, which makes a meal replacement shake to help people with diabetes lower their blood sugar; and Ohalo Genetics, a company using gene-editing tools to breed plants that use less land and water. [...] Friedberg said TPB has only 15 employees but its companies have hundreds of workers combined. His strategy is to hire top scientists, follow research trends for breakthroughs in genomics and life sciences and then fund R&D to determine if his team can develop a marketable product. [...] David Friedberg worked at Google from 2004 to 2006, and then started Climate Corporation, which he later sold to Monsanto for $1 billion. He has since been investing in start-ups focused on agriculture, food supply and genomics, and in 2017 he created The Production Board to help build and fund start-ups. Google's Larry Page was an early backer, Friedberg is revealing for the first time.

• David Friedberg Net Worth in 2025: The Billionaire's Journey to ...

  Here's where Friedberg's story gets really interesting. Dave Friedberg is CEO, Chairman, and co-founder of Ohalo Genetics, which is accelerating evolution to unlock nature's potential. Ohalo isn't just another biotech company - it's potentially the future of how we breed plants. Their "Boosted Breeding" technology can dramatically increase crop yields without genetic modification. I've seen their early data, and the results are staggering. Why Ohalo could be worth billions: [...] ## The Technology Behind Friedberg's Billion-Dollar Bets Understanding the science behind Friedberg's companies helps explain his wealth potential. Ohalo's plant breeding technology could revolutionize agriculture. TPB companies are developing breakthrough technologies in synthetic biology, fermentation, and data analytics. Key technologies driving value: [...] Friedberg's approach offers actionable insights for entrepreneurs and investors. Key takeaways: Focus on solving fundamental problems Build companies that can operate for decades Diversify across multiple ventures Partner with world-class experts Time exits strategically For more on building sustainable wealth, see our blog post: [Internal Link: Entrepreneur Wealth Building Strategies]. ## Friedberg's Impact on the Venture Capital Industry

• 'Boosted' breeding a gamechanger in agtech, claims Ohalo CEO

  “No,” claimed Friedberg. “We’re not introducing non-native DNA and these aren’t transgenic plants. We’re just bringing two native plants together. The only risk is that once you get beyond a certain limit of polyploidy, and it varies from species to species, you actually start to see yield declines. But for what we’re talking about, as far as we’ve seen, it’s universally beneficial.” The business model [...] It’s one thing knowing that two different plants each have genes conferring specific traits of interest, says Ohalo CEO Dave Friedberg. The problem is that when you crossbreed them, a random 50% of the genes from each parent transfer to their offspring, which means the whole endeavor remains a crapshoot. [...] Strikingly, these ‘polyploid’ plants [possessing more than two complete sets of chromosomes] have also been shown to have significantly higher yields, says the startup, which was formed in 2019 by Friedberg’s investment company and venture foundry The Production Board. Ohalo has since raised “a little over $100 million” from undisclosed investors. #### ‘Rather than end up with a crapshoot where we’re 50% likely to get the traits we want, we’re 100% going to get them all’

• The Production Board

  ### Full Ratchet: Gene editing, and investing in the future of life sciences with Risa Stack Listen Now » Listen Now » Read ### CNBC: TPB raises $300 million to save the planet Read More » Read More » Listen ### Big Tech: Friedberg explains how “faster, cheaper, better” technology will decarbonize Earth Listen Now » Listen Now » Watch ### BBC HARDtalk: Stephen Sackur speaks to tech investor David Friedberg Watch Now » Watch Now » Listen [...] ### Venture Europe: Why "bias to action" and rapid iteration trump being right every single time. Listen Now » Listen Now » Listen ### Brian Keating's Into the Impossible Series: Dave Friedberg is All-In on Science Listen Now » Listen Now » Watch ### CNBC: Friedberg lays out 'shock and awe' theory for AI adoption Watch Now » Watch Now » Read ### Forbes: Latin America is where technology and ag meet Read More » Read More » Listen [...] ### Where it Happens Feature: Anything is possible with David Friedberg Listen Now » Listen Now » Watch ### Julia LaRoche: Why free energy will unleash an era of “infinite abundance” Watch Now » Watch Now » Read ### FrieslandCampina Ingredients and Triplebar Bio Inc. partner to bring cell-based proteins to market Read More » Read More » Read ### David Friedberg reflects on 10 years from Climate Corp’s $1bn acquisition Read More » Read More » View All Explorations » #### More

• Explorations - The Production Board

  ## David Friedberg explains his early-stage gene editing business, Ohalo Watch Now » Watch Now » Read ## Op-ed: Bharat Vasan tells how Ozempic changed his mind, body, and investing Read More » Read More » Listen ## Relationship Edge: Risa Stack invests in life sciences to transform human health Listen Now » Listen Now » Read ## The Chicago Maroon: Risa Stack tells her alma mater what sparked her passion for entrepreneurship Read More » Read More » Listen [...] Read More » Read More » Watch ## David Friedberg explains his early-stage gene editing business, Ohalo Watch Now » Watch Now » Watch ## CNBC: Friedberg lays out 'shock and awe' theory for AI adoption Watch Now » Watch Now » Watch ## Julia LaRoche: Why free energy will unleash an era of “infinite abundance” Watch Now » Watch Now » Watch ## Big Tech: How Technology solves our climate crisis Watch Now » Watch Now » Watch [...] ## Relationship Edge: Bharat Vasan uses the "hero's journey" to help founders Listen Now » Listen Now » Listen ## Full Ratchet: Gene editing, and investing in the future of life sciences with Risa Stack Listen Now » Listen Now » Read ## David Friedberg reflects on 10 years from Climate Corp’s $1bn acquisition Read More » Read More » Listen ## Pipeline Visionaries: Crafting brand intent for customer impact with Rachel Konrad Listen Now » Listen Now » Listen