Bybug
Founded 2022 · 19 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
Find your way into Bybug
ByBug is a biotech startup that uses genetic engineering and black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) biomanufacturing to produce oral biological feed additives that prevent diseases such as Caligus in salmon and White Spot Syndrome Virus in shrimp. Its functional additives are mixed into existing animal feed for aquaculture producers, with a stated focus on the Chilean salmon industry and the global shrimp market.
Also known as ByBug Synthetics
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026ByBug, which operates its technology under the name ByBug Synthetics, is a biotechnology startup developing biological feed additives to prevent infectious diseases in farmed shrimp and salmon. Its platform combines genetic engineering with insect biomanufacturing: active biologic sequences against a target pathogen are identified through bioinformatic analysis, expressed in modified black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae so that the biologic is integrated into the insect biomass, and the biomass is then processed and standardized as a functional flour that is incorporated into existing animal feed.
The resulting additive is delivered orally with every meal, which the company frames as continuous administration during the preventive window before an outbreak occurs, keeping animals in a state of sustained resistance and reducing mortality and reliance on antibiotics. Two products are described as in development: Calistop, a continuous-use oral additive for prevention of Caligus (sea lice) infestations in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and SpotOut, a continuous-use oral additive for prevention of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) in whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei).
Founding story
ByBug is led by co-founders Jose del Solar and Rocío Espinosa, with Daniel Troncoso and Gerardo Bluske listed as team members.
Business model
ByBug produces functional additives that are mixed directly into the feed already used by producers, requiring no new protocols, specialized personnel, or modifications to existing culture systems, making the products compatible with existing aquaculture operations.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positions itself in preventive animal health for aquaculture, addressing pathogens it describes as the largest source of economic loss in Chilean salmon farming (Caligus) and the most damaging in global shrimp farming (WSSV).
The company cites low production cost from using organic waste as a growth substrate rather than costly inputs, production costs that do not rise with the complexity of the active ingredient, scalability of the insect biomanufacturing process, compatibility with existing feed and culture systems without new protocols, and a preventive rather than reactive mode of action that it says reduces mortality and antibiotic dependence.
Technology
The platform expresses designed biologics in genetically modified Hermetia illucens larvae, which are reared on organic waste used as growth substrate. Development proceeds in four stages: bioinformatic identification of active sequences against a target pathogen; expression of the biologic in modified larvae so it is contained in their biomass; processing and standardization of that biomass into a functional flour; and continuous oral delivery of the flour as a component of existing feed. The company states that using organic waste as substrate lowers production cost and that costs do not scale with the complexity of the active ingredient.
Go-to-market
Products are supplied as a functional flour blended into feed producers already use, avoiding changes to farm protocols; the site invites direct contact from producers, investors and strategic partners.
Aquaculture producers, in particular salmon farmers affected by Caligus in the Chilean salmon industry and shrimp farmers exposed to White Spot Syndrome Virus in the global shrimp industry. The company also states it engages with investors, researchers and strategic partners.
Geography
Listed locations are La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile, and an office at 100 S Cincinnati Ave, Fifth Floor, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, with contact telephone numbers in both the United States and Chile.
History
The company website carries a 2024 copyright notice and describes both lead products as still in development.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Bybugbybug.io · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Bybug do?
- Chilean-US biotech using genetically engineered black soldier flies to make oral feed additives preventing salmon and shrimp diseases.
- Who are Bybug's investors?
- Bybug's investors include Atento Capital, GRIDX.