Proximity Meets Purpose: How the Solis-Ferris M&A is Showcasing the Value of Service Companies

By now, many of you may have heard that in November 2024 Ferris Genomics was acquired by Solis Agrosciences, thereby diversifying Solis’ customer offerings and strengthening their position as a leader of agricultural services. Solis CEO Charlie Bolten to chat about the ‘buy versus build’ mentality and hear his thoughts around agtech trends.

Buy vs. Build
Founded in 2022, Solis Agrosciences has quickly established itself as a reliable and innovative partner in the agtech sector. Specializing in gene-editing, plant transformation, and phenotyping services, the company serves a diverse clientele that ranges from ambitious startups to multinational corporations. Following the successful licensing of the Pairwise Fulcrum™ platform earlier this year, the addition of Ferris Genomics – a company known for its expertise in whole-genome sequencing and genomics-driven breeding programs – represents a thoughtful and strategic expansion of Solis’ offerings. According to Bolten, the move brings “immediate benefits, with Ferris’ existing services projected to contribute significantly to Solis’ revenue.”

“Growth by M&A has always been part of the Solis business plan.”
– Charlie Bolten, CEO of Solis Agrosciences. 

The timing of this acquisition highlights the growing importance of genomic services in crop and livestock agriculture. Advances in sequencing technology and genomic modeling have made these tools more accessible, allowing companies to integrate genomic data into their breeding programs and accelerate innovation. “Maturity of the technology, price, and impact have reached the point where it makes sense to customers across a range of species and scale,” Bolten explained, reflecting the exciting momentum behind this shift. 

By incorporating Ferris’ sequencing capabilities, Solis can now guide customers through the entire breeding process, from deep sequencing of germplasm collections to identifying targets for genome editing. According to Bolten, this end-to-end approach helps companies improve agronomic traits, such as yield and disease resistance, as well as consumer-facing traits like enhanced flavor and nutrition. “A ‘buy versus build’ strategy makes sense since Solis can provide a complete solution that the customer can turn on and off, or up and down, without the complexity of scaling staff or internal footprint.”

About Solis: Solis Agrosciences is the trusted partner for high-quality AgTech research services. We generate gene-edited and transgenic crops, plant phenotype and efficacy data, end-to-end genomics sequencing services, and individually tailored research solutions for our startup and corporate customers. Solis’ highly trained and industry-experienced scientists operate in the 39 North Ag Biotech district of St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit SolisAgrosciences.com.