Two British Columbia agritech companies are receiving a combined $3.25 million from Genome BC’s Industry Innovation (I²) Fund, marking a significant boost to the province’s growing bioeconomy.

Maia Farms, a Vancouver-based food innovation company, has been awarded $1.75 million to advance its mushroom and mycelium ingredient production. Earlier this year, Genome BC also provided $1.5 million to Verdi, an AI-driven crop management company, through the same fund.

Maia Farms is developing mushroom mycelium as a scalable, sustainable protein alternative. The underground cell network of fungi provides a nutrient-rich ingredient with a fibrous, meat-like texture. Inside its Vancouver lab, the company uses bioreactors to upcycle agricultural byproducts into fermentation-based mycelium, which can then be delivered as protein and fibre ingredients for food manufacturers.

“Maia’s innovative food ingredients are a result of advancements in genetics, agricultural upcycling and bioreactor technology; a nexus that could only happen in BC,” said Gavin Schneider, CEO of Maia Farms. “We already have a loyal customer base and this funding from the I² Fund allows us to scale up production and explore new manufacturing options.”

Maia is also collaborating with University of the Fraser Valley researchers through a Genome BC-backed project on climate-resilient food systems, examining how its technology can shape the province’s agricultural workforce and economy.

Verdi, meanwhile, is helping farmers adopt technology that saves time, water and labour. The company’s hardware and software allow growers to manage irrigation and fertilizer use directly from their phones, powered by AI and real-time data.

Co-founders Arthur Chen and Roman Kozak developed the tools in close partnership with farmers, addressing long-standing barriers to innovation in the sector. Verdi received $1.5 million from the I² Fund in early 2025 to strengthen operations, expand marketing, and build new software features.

“We’ve more than quadrupled our revenue in just the past few months,” said Chen. “There’s a very specific time when our ability to distribute and execute on sales increased dramatically and that lined up with the I² funding.”

Since receiving support, Verdi has expanded into international markets, with its BC-developed tools now being used across the US, Peru, Portugal and beyond.

“The I² Fund is bridging the gap between innovation and commercialization in BC’s bioeconomy,” said Suzanne Gill, Genome BC’s President and CEO. “Our investments in companies like Maia Farms and Verdi help them grow and strengthen BC’s economy and our position as a leader in agritech.”

The I² Fund provides repayable growth capital to small and medium-sized enterprises commercializing life science technologies. The program offers interest-free loans for the first four years after disbursement.