Greensphere Capital Announces Landmark Strategic Partnership With The Smithsonian Institution Expanding Gaia Sciences Innovation Global Natural Sciences Platform
- Jun 22
- 5 min read
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, Greensphere Capital brings together the world’s preeminent British and American bioscience institutions alongside a single investment platform – Gaia Sciences Innovation — and formally establishes its presence in the United States
Partnership will help identify, develop and scale scientific research, intellectual property relevant to climate adaptation, biodiversity, agriculture, oceans and resilient global supply chains.
Gaia Sciences Innovation (GSI) Platform builds on complementary strengths of UK and US bioscience ecosystems.
The new partnership grows GSI from 12 to 47 scientific partner institutions and research centres globally.
GSI now represents work of representing over 8,000 scientists and conservationists operating across more than 100 countries.
London, 22 June 2026 — Greensphere Capital today announced that Gaia Sciences Innovation (“GSI”), its bioscience investment fund and commercialisation platform, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. Together, the organizations will collaborate to identify, develop and scale scientific research, intellectual property relevant to climate adaptation, biodiversity, agriculture, oceans and resilient global supply chains.
The partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the connection between scientific discovery and realworld application, combining the Smithsonian’s unparalleled research, collections and global scientific networks with GSI’s investment platform and commercialization capabilities.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, comprising 21 museums, 14 education and research centres and the National Zoo. Its scientific institutions include the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Marine Station and the National Museum of Natural History, amongst others.
Through this collaboration, the Gaia Sciences Innovation network expands from 12 to 47 scientific partner institutions and research centres globally, significantly strengthening the platform’s scientific reach globally and in the United States. GSI already brings together 12 of the world’s leading bioscience and conservation institutes — among them the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, ZSL, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the University of York, and the Norwich Research Park cluster comprising the John Innes Centre, Earlham Institute, Quadram Institute, The Sainsbury Laboratory and the University of East Anglia amongst others.
Founded by long-standing sustainability investment house, Greensphere Capital, in partnership with leading bioscience and environmental science institutes, GSI combines an initial dedicated $100 million investment fund with the world’s largest partnered bioscience IP and scientific research networks. The platform focuses on technologies and ventures improving the resilience of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food systems, waste systems and supply chains under increasing climate and biodiversity stress.
The partnership builds on the highly complementary strengths of the United Kingdom’s and United States’ bioscience ecosystems. GSI was founded around Britain’s internationally recognised strengths in plant science, ecology, conservation biology, agricultural systems and environmental monitoring. The Smithsonian adds exceptional breadth across natural history, tropical systems, marine science, conservation biology and globally significant biological collections.
Divya Seshamani, Managing Partner of Greensphere Capital, said:
“Biological data is becoming one of the most strategically important datasets in the global economy. Advances in AI are now allowing biological systems to be analysed at unprecedented depth and speed — from ecosystem resilience and crop adaptation to disease detection and supply-chain verification. As these datasets become increasingly consequential, their governance, integrity and stewardship matter enormously. The Smithsonian and its extraordinary scientific breadth materially strengthen GSI’s ability to identify, evaluate and commercialise science addressing climate and biodiversity pressures across land- and ocean-based economies.”
Graham Ramsbottom, Partner of Greensphere Capital, said:
“The pressures now affecting agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food systems and human health are no longer abstract environmental concerns. They are increasingly economically material risks that require more than just capital. We are working alongside the kind of long-horizon science-led institutions and major corporates that are critical to identifying areas of genuine commercial need and jointly building businesses capable of addressing them.”
Dr. Ellen Stofan, Smithsonian Under Secretary for Science and Research said:
“This partnership brings together highly complementary strengths across the United Kingdom and United States and creates new opportunities for scientific collaboration across conservation biology, natural history, marine systems, biodiversity and environmental resilience. The Smithsonian mission is to advance knowledge and deepen understanding through research, outreach, and collaboration. We are excited by the opportunity to work alongside Gaia Sciences Innovation and its partner institutions to strengthen connections between scientific discovery, innovation and real-world application. The challenges affecting ecosystems, food systems and human wellbeing are global in nature, and partnerships that bring together science, institutions and long-term thinking have an important role to play in addressing them.e are excited by the opportunity to work alongside Gaia Sciences Innovation and its partner institutions to strengthen connections between scientific discovery, innovation and real-world application.
About Greensphere Capital
Greensphere Capital is a London-based investment and advisory firm focused on bioscience innovation and technologies addressing climate stress and biodiversity loss across land- and ocean-based economies.
Founded in 2011, Greensphere was selected in 2012 as the first fund manager to the UK Government’s Green Investment Bank, chosen ahead of 23 competing fund managers. Across successive funds, Greensphere has focused on scalable technologies and businesses addressing climate stress and biodiversity loss through commercially driven investment strategies.
About Gaia Sciences Innovation
Gaia Sciences Innovation is Greensphere Capital’s bioscience investment and commercialisation platform. The platform works with 47 scientific partner institutions across the United Kingdom and United States to identify, commercialise and scale scientific research, intellectual property and datasets relevant to agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, oceans, food systems, environmental monitoring and resilient global supply chains.
GSI was founded on the belief that many solutions to these generation-defining challenges lie inside world-class scientific institutions committed to rigorous inquiry, evidence and long-term stewardship. By bringing the Smithsonian into a platform that already includes institutions such as Kew, ZSL and the John Innes Centre, we are strengthening access to scientific capability built over centuries and across multiple geographies.
The GSI Fund has already deployed capital into five portfolio companies. These include:
Kew REACH, a technology-enabled nature advisory business developed with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, applying world-leading biodiversity and restoration science to large-scale land management and habitat restoration projects globally; and
Source Certain, a scientific traceability and origin-verification company supporting agricultural and marine supply chains through forensic-grade commodity authentication and provenance verification technologies.
Three other investments have been made and will be announced over the next quarter.
About the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, comprising 21 museums, 14 education and research centres and the National Zoo. Its scientific institutions include the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Smithsonian Marine Station and the National Museum of Natural History.
For any enquiries, please contact: info@greenspherecapital.com
