Pivot Bio Announces AgTech Corridor Relocation

Company to Relocate Berkeley Headquarters and Operations to Accelerate the Future of Agtech in the Midwest

BERKELEY, Calif., May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pivot Bio, one of Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies and a three-time honoree in TIME magazine's Best Inventions roundup, today announced another bold step in its growth strategy: the creation of centers of excellence based in the Midwest that will serve as anchors for the company's scientific and commercial future.

The company's new footprint will be centered in two hubs:

• Center for Research, Development, Innovation & Operations – A dynamic campus focused on science, product development and manufacturing operations.
    
• Global Headquarters – A central base for the company's leadership, finance, policy, communications, sustainability, global strategy and impact teams, which will continue driving the Pivot Bio mission.

This move reflects a significant milestone in Pivot Bio's journey to reimagine the agricultural system through breakthrough science. Since launching its first microbial nitrogen product in 2018, the company's technology has been adopted on nearly 15 million acres of farmland across North America, and is now in late-stage approval and launch in South America and Africa. The consolidation into these centers of excellence marks an inflection point for Pivot Bio as it scales its operations, strengthens cross-functional collaboration and accelerates the pace of scientific innovation. By aligning its teams more closely with customers and global partners, the company is building a more integrated and efficient operating model — designed to drive growth, unlock new market opportunities and deliver long-term value to shareholders.

Backed by the world's top investment firms, the company is credited for its nitrogen moonshot and its patented gene-edited microbes that fix nitrogen on grain crops. Most importantly, the company delivered on that moonshot by commercializing this breakthrough in record time and accelerating its market leadership. What was once an idea is now a proven solution that produces and delivers nitrogen fertilizer more cheaply and effectively than traditional sources, improving resilience and performance of crops. 

"The Midwest has always been the heart of American agriculture, and it's where many of our earliest customers and most trusted partners are based. As we scale, this region offers a strong center of gravity — rooted in the realities of the farm but connected to global opportunity," said Chris Abbott, CEO of Pivot Bio.

"We've spent the past year evaluating how and where we work best together and what we need to achieve our future growth plans. A number of our team members from Berkeley will be relocating to help lead this next chapter. Throughout history, the most transformative technology companies have fueled innovation by placing R&D, manufacturing and leadership side by side. When those teams collaborate in real time, it creates a flywheel of insight, invention and execution. That's exactly the environment we're building — one that strengthens collaboration, accelerates impact and positions Pivot Bio to lead the future of ag innovation from the field to the world."

The new structure is designed to promote tighter collaboration, faster decision-making, and greater use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Together, these efforts aim to speed up product development and placement to deliver even greater value to growers.

As Pivot Bio expands into new crops like cotton and sorghum, and continues to scale globally, the company remains focused on helping farmers grow more with less, while building a more sustainable and resilient global food system.

"We're building a future where farmers have access to the most advanced tools in agriculture. These centers of excellence will enable us to continue to build one of the most exciting platforms in agriculture," Abbott said.

The company will begin transitioning its operations, including relocating from its current facility in Berkeley, California.

The company expects to add new jobs to its chosen locations. In recent years, Pivot Bio has expanded its presence in St. Louis, Missouri; Wayzata, Minnesota; and São Paulo, Brazil.

"Our roots in Berkeley have played an important role in shaping Pivot Bio into the company it is today, and we're deeply proud of the people and the work that's been done here," said Karsten Temme, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Pivot Bio. "As we look to the future, we want to build an environment that supports deeper integration across our teams and unlocks the full potential of our innovation platform. This includes placing our teams in the ag innovation corridors, closer to customers and partners in the most important agricultural regions."

Pivot Bio is currently evaluating multiple opportunities, focused on advancing its mission, ensuring access to top talent and supporting continued growth in service to farmers across the U.S. and around the world.

About Pivot Bio

Pivot Bio, one of the world's leading innovative agtech companies, delivers to farmers patented crop nutrition technologies that harness the power of nature to reliably and productively grow the food the world needs in the face of increasing volatility. 

Currently available in North America and soon in Brazil, the company's products are a breakthrough innovation and one of the agriculture industry's most promising climate solutions. Pivot Bio has been recognized three times by TIME magazine on its annual list of best inventions, by Fast Company on its World Changing Ideas and World's 50 Most Innovative Companies lists, by CNBC on its Disruptor 50 list of private companies, by Fortune on its Impact 20 list of startups driving social good and by MIT Tech Review as one of 15 climate tech companies to watch. 

For more information, visit pivotbio.com 

SOURCE Pivot Bio, Inc