Qihe Biotech Closes Over 100 Million Yuan Pre-A Round to Accelerate Development and Application of Novel Gene-Editing Technologies

Qinghe Biotech (hereinafter referred to as "Qinghe"), a Suzhou-based gene editing company, has completed a Pre-A funding round exceeding RMB 100 million, led by CD Capital with participation from Gaorong Ventures, Source Code Capital, Zhongxin Capital, and Xinshang Capital.

The proceeds will primarily fund the development of next-generation proprietary precision gene editing tools and the expansion of its gene editing product pipeline. The financing will further strengthen Qinghe's leading position in foundational R&D for plant gene editing technology and accelerate the commercialization of gene-edited bio-breeding.

Developing Next-Generation Precision, Efficient, and Proprietary Chromosome Editing Tools

Founded in 2021 by internationally renowned gene editing scientist Caixia Gao and Dr. Kevin Zhao, Qinghe Biotech has built its technical foundation on precision gene editing research. Dr. Zhao trained under David Liu, the celebrated gene editing scientist at the Broad Institute. As a biotech enterprise dedicated to developing novel, independently controlled gene editing technologies, the company has made substantial progress in mining new foundational gene editing tools, optimizing proprietary gene editing systems, developing safe and efficient delivery systems, and creating breakthrough germplasm resources — forming a high-tech industrial chain centered on its SEEDIT™ platform.

A commitment to original innovation has been central to Qinghe's rapid rise in the industry. Drawing on years of accumulated R&D in plant gene editing, the company has developed a suite of core CRISPR-Cas-based gene editing technologies capable of sophisticated gene and genome manipulations in plants, including gene knockout, precise base substitution, targeted DNA fragment deletion, fine-tuned gene expression regulation, and precise long-fragment DNA knock-in.

Currently, scientists worldwide are exploring multifaceted strategies to develop tools for precise, efficient, and targetable large-fragment gene insertion. Qinghe has launched a comprehensive initiative to develop next-generation precision, efficient, and proprietary chromosome editing tools. By designing and developing systems for precise, large-fragment gene insertion at specific sites, the company aims to achieve targeted insertion of multiple genes across multiple plant species — enabling rapid, precise stacking of new traits while ensuring exogenous genes do not disrupt plant growth.

Accelerating the Industrialization of Gene-Edited Bio-Breeding

Driving the industrialization of gene editing breeding has always been Qinghe's motivating force in serving national strategic goals. The company has built a comprehensive crop development system that meets delivery technology R&D needs across multiple plant species. It has established transient in vivo editing efficiency validation systems using protoplast or Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation for over 30 plants — including autonomous delivery capabilities for globally important food crops such as rice, wheat, soybeans, and corn, as well as plants widely considered difficult to transform, including sugar beet, mung bean, and Chinese cabbage.

Powered by a product development framework of "advanced tools + precision delivery," Qinghe has already achieved precise improvement of yield and quality traits in multiple food and economic crops, including powdery mildew-resistant wheat, herbicide-resistant rice, sweeter strawberries, and high-vitamin C lettuce.

Since CRISPR-Cas9 was first applied to gene editing in 2012, the technology has undergone several iterations. First-generation CRISPR technology was rapidly adopted across multiple areas of life sciences research, but its editing carried a degree of randomness — the resulting mutation types were uncontrollable, making precise improvement of crop agronomic traits difficult. Second-generation gene editing technologies, led by base editing and prime editing, have upgraded capabilities to enable arbitrary substitution of all four bases and precise insertion or deletion of short DNA fragments, achieving the leap from imprecise to precise editing.

Dr. Kevin Zhao, co-founder and CTO, stated: "Currently, global gene editing technology has entered a third-generation R&D phase. Achieving efficient manipulation of large DNA fragments and even at the chromosome level remains a major challenge in genome editing research — yet this technical problem carries extraordinary significance for both gene therapy and agricultural breeding. This funding will further accelerate Qinghe's development of next-generation precision and efficient gene editing technologies. The company will focus intensively on large-fragment gene insertion at specific sites, gaining greater breadth and diversity in our gene editing product development and contributing to the national industrial application of bio-breeding."

Caixia Gao, co-founder and chief scientist, said: "This funding round holds significant meaning for Qinghe's development. It reinforces our strategic resolve to develop core gene editing technologies and build out our bio-breeding industrialization capabilities, substantially enhancing and strengthening our comprehensive competitive advantages for future growth. Going forward, Qinghe will seize the opportunity presented by China's national seed industry revitalization initiative, oriented toward public health and critical national needs, always standing at the forefront of gene editing technology development, and striving to develop more gene-edited products that benefit both farmers and consumers."