Nexus Agriscience

Nexus Agriscience is an agricultural technology company headquartered in Livermore, California, founded in 2019 and operating under its current name since 2025. The company develops industrial hemp genetics, proprietary processing technologies, and a commercial ecosystem designed to supply natural ingredients for flavor, fragrance, and functional product markets at prices competitive with petroleum-based synthetics. Its core thesis is that industrial hemp can serve as a domestic, renewable feedstock for the specialty chemicals that brands and consumers increasingly demand in natural form.

Originally founded as Terpene Belt Farms, the company entered the market by producing essential oils from industrial hemp for the cannabis vape industry, giving products the authentic taste and aroma of specific cannabis strains. In 2025, it expanded its scope, rebranded as Nexus Agriscience, and acquired the hemp division of Biotech Institute — a long-time genetics partner — bringing its patents, plant genetics library, and research expertise in-house.

The company operates across three core capability areas. First, genetics: led by Dr. Mark Lewis, VP of Genetic Development, the company maintains an extensive library of industrial hemp varieties selectively bred to express specific compounds at commercially viable concentrations. Its in-house analytical laboratory in Livermore conducts chemotyping of plant material to guide and refine the breeding program. Second, processing technologies: Nexus has developed proprietary methods including distillation performed within hours of harvest and downstream purification capable of isolating single compounds for ingredient-grade purity. It processes material through existing domestic facilities, including botanical extraction sites and industrial purification and refining operations. Third, ecosystem development: the company works with a network of growers and processors so that its genetics can be cultivated and processed wherever farming infrastructure exists, beginning in California.

Nexus currently holds five granted patents covering its industrial hemp genetics, a portfolio that grew significantly through the Biotech Institute acquisition.

All finished products are tested by an independent ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory registered with the DEA for industrial hemp. The company's own analytical lab performs batch-level quality checks against customer-defined specifications, providing a two-tiered quality assurance process.

Nexus markets its ingredients under two consumer-facing brands within the cannabis industry. Terpene Belt Farms offers single-strain essential oils, pure and additive-free, targeting premium cannabis brands and flavor distributors. Duty Free Terpenes blends Nexus essential oil with natural terpenes sourced from other plants, sold in ready-to-fill formats for mid-market and value-segment vape brands.

Beyond cannabis, Nexus is actively breeding hemp varieties targeting the beverage, flavor, and fragrance markets, with the goal of supplying natural molecules to flavor houses, perfumers, and functional ingredient formulators. The company operates a circular supply chain in which post-processing plant material is returned to the soil as organic matter.