How ZeaKal’s PhotoSeed™ nabbed the United States’ No. 1 spot in the Seed World Global Innovation Showdown.
In a world hungry for smarter solutions, ZeaKal’s flagship plant trait technology, PhotoSeed™, is rewriting the rules of crop productivity and sustainability. By elevating photosynthesis and carbon conversion, this innovation is doing more than yield — it’s turning every photon into a more profitable, nutritious, and environmentally responsible outcome.
That’s the promise and power behind PhotoSeed, and it’s a key reason why ZeaKal rose to the top in the Seed World Global Innovation Showdown. The technology stood out not just for its scientific chops, but for how it reimagines the value of seed.
“We confuse the plant into thinking that it’s starving,” says Han Chen, co-founder and CEO of ZeaKal. “It’s the anti-Ozempic of plants. The plant sustains photosynthesis longer throughout the day and the season because it’s tricked into thinking it needs to work harder to capture carbon.”
That sustained energy capture allows crops to produce more oil, more protein, more feed, more fuel — without needing more inputs, more land, or more time. PhotoSeed isn’t a bandage. It’s a new blueprint.
The Origin Story
The idea that launched ZeaKal — literally on the back of a napkin — started with a modest goal: make perennial ryegrass more nutritious for New Zealand pastures. But the results went far beyond expectations.
“The ryegrass came back with better growth, more yield, better root architecture. We were completely blown away,” Chen says. “We hadn’t set out to change photosynthesis. But by serendipity, we had invented PhotoSeed.”
From that napkin sketch, Chen, co-founder Nick Roberts, and a trans-Pacific network of plant scientists built a platform trait technology with global implications. In 2013, they officially founded ZeaKal to scale it across major row crops — beginning in the United States.
From Trait to Transformation
In soybeans, PhotoSeed tackles a major quality crisis. Over the past several decades, as breeders pushed for yield, protein levels have dropped.
“We’ve kind of ignored the nutritional aspects of soy,” Chen says. “We forgot why the crop is being grown in the first place.”
PhotoSeed helps restore those protein levels while increasing oil production by up to 15% — without compromising field yield. That’s not just a win for growers. It’s a win for every link in the supply chain.
“If you’re a processor, you want more oil. If you’re in animal nutrition, you want more protein,” Chen says. “With PhotoSeed, it’s a better bean for everyone.”
Corn follows a similar logic. ZeaKal’s PhotoSeed-enhanced corn shows up to 23% more oil content.
The increased oil across crops opens new doors for renewable energy markets, particularly sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Independent analysis suggests PhotoSeed could reduce SAF’s carbon intensity for soybean oil by 4.6 grams CO₂e/MJ — a potential boost of one billion gallons of U.S. SAF production annually, all without expanding farmland.
“America’s combined 170 million acres each of corn and soybeans can be the foundation of decarbonization,” Chen says. “Agriculture isn’t just food. It’s fuel. It’s fiber. It’s the platform for a bio-based economy.”
Reinventing the Supply Chain
PhotoSeed is only one part of ZeaKal’s vision. The other is its NewType model for agriculture, a framework that seeks to rebuild supply chains around shared value, not just volume.
“Commodity agriculture is a volume game,” Chen says. “And in the U.S., we’ve solved the calorie deficit. Now we need to solve the nutrition deficit, and we need to make sure farmers get paid for solving it.”
In today’s system, farmers are price takers. ZeaKal wants to flip that. By building traceable, high-value markets for nutrient-rich and carbon-smart crops, the NewType model positions growers as price makers.
“We ask: What if the crop the farmer grows is actually what the industry wants?” Chen says. “Can we bring the end-user all the way back to the seed and uplift the whole value chain?”
From Policy to Plants
If Chen’s passion for system-wide change sounds personal, it is. He didn’t begin his career in science or agtech. He was a political science major who once envisioned a future in diplomacy.
“I thought I was going to work for the State Department, maybe save babies or solve conflicts,” Chen says with a grin. “But one of my professors told me I’d be stamping passports for the next ten years. That’s when I pivoted.”
He moved into venture capital, believing capital could drive change faster than policy. But finance left him cold — it was always a zero-sum game. Agriculture, on the other hand, offered something else entirely.
“There’s only one thing that improves the human condition — innovation,” he says. “And there’s no better place for innovation than agriculture. It’s the foundation of our society.”
Building an Ecosystem, Not Just a Company
Chen says ZeaKal has always been lean; capital-efficient and impact-focused. That ethos comes with experience.
“This June marks 20 years for me in this industry,” Chen says. “And I’d tell any innovator: set your expectations. There’s no such thing as an overnight success.”
Instead of chasing trends, ZeaKal has remained laser-focused on building long-term partnerships — from land-grant universities to multinational agribusinesses. For Chen, trust and consistency matter more than hype.
“Don’t be the company that pivots every year,” he says. “Be the one that stays true to its vision, builds trust, and creates real value.”
That trust — and that vision — are paying off. In 2026, PhotoSeed will reach growers’ hands. Chen says the science is behind them. Now comes the impact.
“We’ve set the table. Now it’s time to bring the steak,” Chen says.
In 10 Years …
If ZeaKal succeeds, 10 years from now, Chen says farmers won’t just be producing crops. They’ll be producing nutritional and carbon solutions. Chen hopes they’ll take pride in growing with purpose.
“I want growers to say, ‘I know where my crop ends up. I know I’m feeding people better. I know I’m part of the energy transition,’” he says.
And for consumers?
“I hope they look at a bottle of oil, a chicken breast or a plane ticket and see the label ‘Powered by PhotoSeed,’” Chen says. “I want them to know that means something—that they’re choosing sustainability, equity, and innovation.”
