BiomEdit Receives $2 Million from Bezos Earth Fund for AI Model to Cut Cattle Methane

BiomEdit has been awarded nearly $2 million from the Bezos Earth Fund to develop an AI foundation model aimed at identifying strategies to reduce methane emissions in cattle, announced in a press release. The funding is part of the fund's AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge and includes collaboration with Bioversity International USA and Yale University.

The project will support the creation of the Rumen Digital Twin, a generative AI model trained on data from over 20,000 ruminants across more than 25 countries. The system will integrate microbiome profiles, methane emissions, diet, genetics, and animal performance data to simulate and identify effective methane-reduction strategies.

The goal is to replace traditional animal trials with AI simulations to determine the most efficient feed additives or interventions, potentially reducing emissions by up to 75% compared to untargeted methods. The team plans to release an open-access platform allowing researchers and organizations to model virtual ruminant populations and explore methane mitigation strategies.

This initiative follows BiomEdit’s earlier $4.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation in 2023 to develop microbiome-based feed additives for methane reduction in cattle across Africa and South Asia.