BigSis is building a broad portfolio of chemical-free insect control solutions that are more effective and more enduring than chemical insecticides. These solutions are based on the sterile insect technique (SIT): sterile males of the pest are released to mate with wild females and so control the population. BigSis’ proprietary automated insect rearing system makes SIT 90% cheaper per hectare; this provides a platform to address dozens of commercially important insect pests worldwide and to substitute the majority of the $17bn chemical insecticide market. BigSis SIT is so safe and so benign that there is little or no regulatory requirement in many jurisdictions. BigSis first solution, launched in the UK in 2023 and delivered as a season-long service, targets the huge unmet need to control the invasive SWD (spotted wing drosophila) fruit fly which can devastate high-value soft fruit crops. BigSis has raised over £6.5 million to date in EIS-eligible rounds and aims to raise a Series B funding round of £7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
