About FloraForge
Building a new category of plant biotechnology.
FloraForge is an early-stage plant biotechnology company developing new ways to design, test, and commercialize engineered plant traits. FloraForge begins with ornamental plants, where biological changes can be evaluated visually and translated into products people can immediately understand.
Mission
Turning plant biotechnology into living products.
FloraForge is built around a simple idea: plant biotechnology should lead to things people can actually see, test, and use. The field has created powerful tools for engineering plants, and FloraForge is focused on applying those tools toward visible, product-oriented outcomes.
Starting with ornamental plants gives FloraForge a faster way to learn. Changes in color, pattern, expression, and form can be evaluated directly in living plants. Those early proof points help build the systems needed for future applications across plant design, agriculture, and biomaterials.
Founder-led
From advanced biotech to plant engineering.
FloraForge is led by founder Justin Bianchini, a genome and cell engineer with experience across four biotech startup environments. Before founding FloraForge, Justin worked on advanced genome engineering programs at Colossal Biosciences, including de-extinction projects involving the dire wolf and Tasmanian tiger, and previously engineered iPSC-derived immune cells for cancer clinical trial programs at Century Therapeutics.
FloraForge brings that technical background into plants. The company is being built through direct execution: designing genetic constructs, developing plant systems, testing expression, and turning biological ideas into visible proof.
Current work is based in North Carolina, where FloraForge is conducting plant growth and experimental development using NCSU research facilities. This hands-on, capital-efficient approach allows the company to move quickly from design to testing while building the foundation for future plant products.