We are the team that will change the color of our fields and the taste on our plates! We will achieve this by unlocking the incredible potential of the plants of planet earth 🌎
We are Pádraic and Mike, co-founders of Aardaia. We’re bringing a fresh perspective to solving agriculture’s challenges: domesticating wild plants to create new crops that are better for farmers, consumers, and the planet!
Pádraic grew up in Ireland and has a PhD in plant genetics from Wageningen University. For as long as he can remember, Pádraic has been obsessed with plants and never had a doubt that he was going to dedicate his career to studying them. He decided to start Aardaia during Covid when he realized he had an opportunity to make serious impact with his knowledge of plant breeding and the world of wild plants.
Mike is from Boston and holds an MBA from INSEAD. Mike didn’t grow up thinking much about plants or agriculture - he studied Chinese and Economics and started his career working in consulting. His view of the world shifted when he moved from consulting to agritech in 2018 and learned more about how important our food system is and how much it needs to change to enable a sustainable future. Mike connected with Pádraic at the end of 2024 and decided to join him on the Aardaia journey.
Together, we have gained a ton of valuable insights during our time working at fast-paced agritech startups like Indigo, InFarm, and Solynta - and are now applying those learnings to build an awesome and impactful company at Aardaia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTclAA4XV98
Last year, Pádraic was on the Escaped Sapiens podcast, where he talked about his vision for Aardaia. Please listen if you want to learn more about what drives our Aardaia team!
Aardaia is proud to be part of a consortium awarded the Dutch government’s Reap2Sow grant, advancing innovation in agriculture and the creation of new crops
Lupin, Quinoa, and Forgotten Crops Power Dutch Shift to Sustainable Farming - Seed World
We are on a mission to change agriculture in a major way, and in order to do that we need to build a world-class team that is hungry to drive change and take on the associated challenges that come with such a bold idea.
At Aardaia, every day brings new and diverse tasks, so no two days are the same. As a small and lean company, everyone who joins gets real responsibility from day one and the chance to work directly with our founders.
If this resonates with you and you are ready to join a team that is pushing the boundaries to solve agriculture’s greatest challenges, then you are in the right place!
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🧠Curiosity over Comfort
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When problems are big, we ask bigger questions. We experiment, learn fast, and embrace the unknown instead of playing it safe.
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🎢 Have Fun With the Hard Stuff
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Tough challenges don’t intimidate us, they energize us! We celebrate progress, laugh often, and make the journey as rewarding as the destination.
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🎩 Wear Many Hats
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No two days look the same at Aardaia. We thrive on variety, jump between roles, and treat flexibility as a superpower!
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🤝 Ownership from Day One
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Joining Aardaia means taking responsibility right away. We trust our team, empower initiative, and give people space to lead projects early.
Domestication on Demand:
Unlike traditional crop breeding, which focuses on marginal improvements to existing species, our mission is to rapidly domesticate wild plants that already possess critical adaptations - drought resistance, nitrogen fixation, and climate resilience. This approach is essential in an era of escalating environmental stress and food insecurity.
With over 400,000 plant species on Earth, and only a few dozen forming the backbone of global agriculture, we are missing out on extraordinary biodiversity that could redefine our food systems. By applying cutting-edge genomics, predictive breeding, and speed breeding techniques, Aardaia is developing new, high-yielding, climate-smart crops at an unprecedented pace. Our work directly supports a more resilient and adaptive food supply chain, mitigating risks posed by climate change, soil degradation, and input-intensive farming.
Aardaker – A New Crop Category for Sustainable Protein Production Aardaia’s flagship crop, the aardaker (Lathyrus tuberosus), is set to revolutionize protein production. This nitrogen-fixing tuber combines the yield potential of a root crop and the protein potential of a legume - a true “protein potato.” Unlike soybeans, which require long-distance transport, aardaker thrives in European climates without the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, significantly reducing environmental impact.
Key Benefits of Aardaker:
âś… Up to 5x more protein per hectare than other protein-rich crops
âś… Nitrogen-fixing, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers
âś… Perennial potential, improving soil health and carbon sequestration
âś… Adapted to European and North American climates
âś… Fits into existing crop rotations, making adoption easy for farmers
Aardaker is a forgotten food with a rich history:
Did you know that aardaker was consumed as a delicacy (and even farmed!) for 100s of years in Europe? See this woodprint below from the Rijks Museum (c. 1800) showing aardaker being sold at the Amsterdam Christmas market!
“I sell here by the pound, good aardakers fat and round”
Visiting our aardaker seedlings in the plant nursery
Planting a field of aardaker with our farming partner in Denmark
Hand transplanting aardaker seedlings (even our CEO does this sometimes!)
Team aardaker tasting session!