Company Profile
Pairwise
Company Overview
Health-focused food and agriculture company Pairwise is transforming what we eat. Powered by best-in-class technology, Pairwise is creating a new consumer-centric category of novel, nutritious foods under its Conscious™ Foods brand.
Founded in 2017, Pairwise is headquartered in Durham, NC, in the vibrant innovation community of Research Triangle Park. In under five years, the company has grown to more than 160 team members across two locations in Durham, NC, with several employees stationed in California to span both state-of-the-art laboratories and boots-on-the-ground field operations.
Pairwise has two primary business areas – a B2B effort in plant-based verticals anchored by a five-year collaboration with Bayer in row crops, and a B2C effort under its Conscious Foods brand that is building a portfolio in leafy greens, berries, and cherries that will be sold in North American grocery stores and restaurants.
The company holds licenses from Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital and was founded by world-class scientific minds who are pioneers in the fields of CRISPR, gene editing, and biotechnology.
Company History
• 2017
o Pairwise is founded
? "Our five founders are:
• Dr. Tom Adams, CEO of Pairwise
• Dr. Haven Baker, CBO of Pairwise
• Dr. Feng Zhang of MIT, Broad Institute
• Dr. David Liu of Harvard
• Dr. J. Keith Joung of Massachusetts General Hospital
• 2018
o Pairwise opens in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park.
• March 2018
o $25 million in Series A funding, led by Deerfield and Leaps by Bayer announced.
o $100 million collaboration with Bayer to advance gene-editing tools in row crops announced.
• 2019
o Licensing agreements executed for gene editing technologies with Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
• August 2019
o Pairwise opens headquarters on Golden Belt Campus.
• October 2019
o First non-pungent mustard greens created.
• April 2020
o First commercial fruit collaboration announced with Plant Sciences, Inc. (PSI) for berries.
• August 2020
o Confirmation received from USDA that Pairwise’s first consumer product can proceed to market.
• September 2020
o First blackberry edit created.
• February 2021
o $90 million Series B closed, led by Aliment Capital and Deerfield.
• July 2021
o Pairwise Featured in “The New York Times Magazine”.
o First patent recieved.
• Summer/Fall 2021
o Corn phenotypes with increased kernel row numbers grown and evaluated in the U.S. Midwest.
• 2021/2022
o Gene edited greens trialed in North Carolina, California, and Yuma, AZ to gather additional yield and performance data.
• January 2022
o Pairwise featured on BBC World News' “Follow the Food” Series.
• February 2022
o Pairwise voted FoodTech 500 winner.
o First evidence of successful editing for early flowering in berries.
o Licensing deal inked with Tropic Biosciences to utilize base editing technology to drive innovation in bananas and coffee.
• March 2022
o ConsciousTM Foods, Pairwise’s purpose-driven, health focused food brand introduced. First products include varieties of nutrient-dense, flavorful leafy greens.
• Summer 2022
o Sampling events held in select U.S. cities, giving consumers the opportunity to try our Conscious Greens.
• September 2022
o First research paper explaining the science behind Conscious Greens featured in “Plants”.
• October 2022
o World class Advisory Board announced.
o Conscious Foods wins “Best in Show inline Booth” at IFPA Global Produce and Floral Show.
• April 2023
o First commercial product launched to food service channel!
Notable Products / Brands
Concious Foods
Notable Clients
Bayer Crop Science, PFG
Benefits
We have some pretty amazing things here at Pairwise, but the top of the list is our employees. We do our best to show our employees how much they mean to us through our benefits offerings. We offer a full range of medical/dental/vision coverage, HSA & FSA offerings, as well as other benefits starting on Day 1 - no waiting period!
We offer flexible PTO to ensure our team is well rested and have a balanced life.
Pairwise is a hybrid work evironment. Our employees work with their leaders to find the best mix of home/office time, with many being fully remote or fully from home.
Our employees are our owners! Everyone at Pairwise receives equity in the company - so the company's success is our success - we're all in this together!