Science-driven,
open by design
What Anthea is
Anthea is an open-source horticultural biotechnology initiative focused on creating the next generation of high-uniformity, biology-enhanced seedlings for European agriculture.
We stand at the intersection of vertical farming, plant physiology, microbiology, and agroecology — growers and researchers, open-source advocates, deeply rooted in both data and soil.
Our mission is to make advanced plant material transparent, shareable, and adaptable. Seeds and genetics as commons, not commodities.
What we believe
- ◆ Farmers should be co-breeders, not just customers.
- ◆ Open genetics preserve agrobiodiversity and reduce systemic fragility.
- ◆ The seedling stage is where biology, environment, and genetics first meet — and where the most leverage exists.
- ◆ Science should be practiced in the field, not only in the lab.
Dr. Rosario Iacono
Rosario is a plant biologist and agrifood entrepreneur specialising in mycorrhizal networks, soil fungal ecology, and controlled-environment agriculture. He holds a PhD from Aberystwyth University on Miscanthus genetic diversity and conducted postdoctoral research at the Helmholtz Centre on soil fungal community networks across 330 European sites.
He is currently Scientific Coordinator at IPK Leibniz-Institut in Gatersleben, where he co-coordinates the Neuland project — a collaboration between IPK and Kunsthochschule Halle at the intersection of plant science and design.
Rosario won the EIT Food Innovator Fellowship final pitch with Anthea, and has previously accelerated the company through the Weinberg Campus programme in Halle.
Selected publications
- Nature Communications · first author
- Environmental Microbiology · first author
- Two further peer-reviewed papers
Credentials
- EIT Food Innovator Fellow
- AFHEA
- Managing Editor, Int. Mycorrhiza Society Newsletter
- IPK Leibniz-Institut, Scientific Coordinator
Interested in working with Anthea?
Get in touch