Glowing Plant Will Be Y Combinator’s First Biotech Startup

August 12, 2014 | The Glowing Plant company, a synthetic biology startup responsible for the creation of glow-in-the-dark plants will be the Y Combinator seed accelerator’s first biotechnology startup. Glowing Plant hopes to build functional plants for the home that could work to repel insects or work as air fresheners. The project was presented in a viral Kickstarter campaign that raised the company $484,000. The technology uses the Genome Compiler, an Israeli-invented platform that allows scientists and enthusiasts to experiment with genetics, in order to create the glowing properties of the plant.