From North Carolina to Scotts Valley: Feanix Bio brings AI-powered dairy genetics to Santa Cruz County
Feanix Bio has moved its headquarters from North Carolina to Scotts Valley, bringing an AI-powered dairy genetics platform that ranks every cow by her value to the farm. CEO Mitchell Angove presents at SCWorks New Tech on October 7, 2026.
Every day, a dairy farmer makes hundreds of decisions about individual cows. Which ones to breed, and with what semen? Which to dry off early, sell or cull? How many replacement heifers to raise? Most of these calls rest on industry averages and gut instinct, and on a herd of thousands, small misses add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Feanix Bio, which just moved its headquarters from North Carolina to Scotts Valley, is changing that. Its platform, Feanix Autopilot, combines whole-genome sequencing with the data a farm already collects: herd records, feed costs, milk checks and health events. It predicts how each animal will actually perform and ranks every cow by her value to that farm's economics. Each morning it sends back clear action lists: breed, beef, do-not-breed, sell, cull or monitor.
“When farmers know how an animal is truly going to perform, every decision becomes more accurate. That difference doesn’t just impact one cow — it impacts the profitability of the entire farm.”
A customer's journey: a 5,000-cow Central Valley dairy
Before: Replacement numbers and semen choices followed rules of thumb, and the size of the milking herd swung with the seasons.
Getting started: Feanix connected to the dairy's existing DairyComp records. There was no new software for staff to learn. Daily cull, early-dry, fresh-sell and breeding lists now arrive right in the system the team already uses. The model forecasts replacement needs almost three years out and adjusts the mix of sexed and beef semen to match.
After about a year: The dairy averaged roughly 170 more milking cows than its baseline, earned an estimated $300,000+ in added profit, and kept its milking herd steady year-round.
Why Santa Cruz
Feanix is building a wet lab in Scotts Valley and growing its team of biologists, data scientists and engineers. "Built by farmers, in service of farms," Feanix sees California, the country's largest dairy state, as the natural home for what comes next.
Get involved
Dairy producers and ag partners: See what Autopilot would recommend for your herd. Contact info@feanixbio.com or visit feanixbio.com.
Join the team: Feanix is hiring in Scotts Valley. See feanixbio.com/careers.
Meet Mitch in person: He's presenting at Santa Cruz Works' New Tech event on October 7.
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