# Ashley Beckwith

> Ashley Beckwith is the founder and CEO of Foray Bioscience, a Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech growing wood, plant materials, molecules, and seeds from single plant cells - no forests required. Out of her PhD in mechanical engineering at MIT, where she grew wood-like tissue in the lab from a zinnia leaf, she built a company that pairs in-vitro plant cell culture with an AI platform called Pando, billed as an operating system for plant science. The goal: shorten plant development from decades to months and bring biomanufacturing's precision to forestry and conservation.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Foray Bioscience
- **Organizations:** Foray Bioscience, MIT, Draper Laboratory
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SM (Master of Science), Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Pioneered growing wood-like plant tissue in the lab without soil, sunlight, or felled trees, starting from a zinnia leaf, Demonstrated control over lignin content to tune the firmness of lab-grown plant material, Founded Foray Bioscience and raised $3M in seed funding (2024)

## Career timeline

- **2018** — Earned SM in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, focused on biology and materials manufacturing for precision treatment of human disease
- **2018-2019** — Worked on a regenerative, self-sufficient farm designed to mimic natural ecosystems
- **2021** — Published research demonstrating lab-grown wood-like plant tissue with controllable stiffness and density; began exploring entrepreneurship via E14 Fund and The Engine
- **2022** — Completed PhD at MIT in the lab of Luis Fernando Velasquez-Garcia; founded Foray Bioscience in February
- **2024** — Foray raised $3M seed round led by ReGen Ventures
- **2026** — Launched Pando, an AI-native operating system for plant culture; announced commercial chestnut partnership with West Coast Chestnut

## Achievements

- Pioneered growing wood-like plant tissue in the lab without soil, sunlight, or felled trees, starting from a zinnia leaf
- Demonstrated control over lignin content to tune the firmness of lab-grown plant material
- Founded Foray Bioscience and raised $3M in seed funding (2024)
- Built and launched Pando, described as the largest structured in-vitro plant knowledge base paired with AI research tools
- Partnered with West Coast Chestnut to deploy disease-resistant chestnut trees via fabricated seeds

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Foray launched Pando, an AI-native intelligent research and development workspace and operating system for plant culture.
- **2026-01** — Featured by AgTechNavigator describing Foray's Pando as a 'Google Maps for plants' using AI and biotech to improve R&D.
- **2024-06** — Foray Bioscience raised $3M seed round to protect and restore natural ecosystems with biomanufacturing.

## Links

- Website: https://foraybio.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-beckwith-b8302a89

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ashley-beckwith
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-25