Solugen
YC W17Houston, US · Founded 2017 · Delaware corporation · 200 employees · 30 known investors
Solugen develops a biomanufacturing platform using fermentation and bioprocessing technology to produce specialty chemicals at scale. The company serves customers in energy, chemicals, and related industries with cost-effective alternatives to traditional petrochemical-based manufacturing.
Also known as Bioperoxide
Advanced ManufacturingBiotechCleantechClimate TechHealthtechManufacturingClimateClimateTechBiotechnologyIndustrialUnited States of AmericaAmerica / CanadaPartly Remote
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W17)
Solugen was founded in 2017 by Sean Hunt and Gaurab Chakrabarti.
SH
GC
Gaurab Chakrabartiin𝕏CEO/Co-FounderHe and his co-founder met through shared work on decarbonization within the chemical industry.
Board
SB
Investors · 30
Fifty Years✓ verifiedSan Francisco · $250K – $2Mvia Seth Bannon · board
Founders Fund✓ verifiedSan Francisco · $500K – $5Mvia Brian Singerman · board
Lowercarbon Capital✓ verifiedNew York · $100K – $5Mvia Clay Dumas · quoted
Y Combinator✓ verifiedSan Francisco · $500K
Baillie Gifford✓ verifiedEdinburgh
GIC✓ verifiedSingapore
KdT Ventures✓ verifiedAustin · $500K – $3M
Refactor Capital✓ verifiedBurlingame · $1M – $2M
Aera VCSingapore · $25K – $5M
Cantos VenturesSan Francisco · $400K – $1.5M
Congruent VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $5M
CrunchFundvia Michael Arrington · inferred
FundersClubSan Francisco · $250K – $5M
Harpoon VenturesSan Diego · $100K – $5M
Jude GomilaLynnwoodvia Jude Gomila · inferred
KinnevikStockholm
Liquid VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $5M
LOWERCARBONJackson · $1M – $50M
Meron CapitalTel Aviv
MetaplanetTallinn · $500K – $10M
Next Legacy PartnersPortola Valley
Prelude VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $5M
Ruvento Ventures Pte Ltd.Singapore · $100K – $500Kvia Soltan Bichiev · inferred
Trousdale VenturesWest Hollywood · $1M – $5M
Tuesday CapitalSan Francisco
BlackRockreportedNew York
BoxGroupreportedNew York · $1M
Canada Growth FundreportedMontreal
CarbonreportedAmsterdam · $100K
Also in the syndicate · 1
Idealist Capitallead
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$475.9M disclosed across 5 rounds · 2018–2026
- $50MraisedMar 2026 · 3 sources
Idealist Capital (lead), Canada Growth Fund
Source ↗
▶$356.9MraisedOct 2021 · 16 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$356.9MraisedOct 2021 · 16 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Sean HuntExecutive Officer, Director
- Brian SingermanDirector
- Gaurab ChakrabartiExecutive Officer, Director
- Seth BannonDirector
- Offering amount
- $356.9M
- Amount sold
- $356.9M
- First sale
- Sep 2021
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$30.1MraisedJul 2020 · 17 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$30.1MraisedJul 2020 · 17 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Brian SingermanDirector
- Seth BannonDirector
- Gaurab ChakrabartiExecutive Officer, Director
- Sean HuntExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $30.1M
- Amount sold
- $30.1M
- First sale
- Mar 2020
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$20MraisedMay 2019 · 14 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$20MraisedMay 2019 · 14 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Gaurab ChakrabartiExecutive Officer, Director
- Brian SingermanDirector
- Sean HuntExecutive Officer, Director
- Seth BannonDirector
- Offering amount
- $20M
- Amount sold
- $20M
- First sale
- Apr 2019
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$18.8MraisedNov 2018 · 50 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$18.8MraisedNov 2018 · 50 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Sean HuntExecutive Officer, Director
- Seth BannonDirector
- Gaurab ChakrabartiExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $18.8M
- Amount sold
- $18.8M
- First sale
- Oct 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2016
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
The YC application· Winter 2017 batch
Alumni Q&A
- How did your company get started? (i.e., How did the founders meet? How did you come up with the idea? How did you decide to be a founder?)
- The company began after co-founders G and Sean met at a poker game and found they were both working on decarbonizing chemicals from different approaches, leading them to combine efforts on a decarbonization technology platform.
- What is the core problem you are solving? Why is this a big problem? What made you decide to work on it?
- The founders are addressing greenhouse gas emissions from chemicals production, which they state accounts for over 8% of all GHG emissions from energy use and chemical reactions. Their technology aims to produce chemical ingredients from renewable sources in a carbon-negative way at costs comparable to existing products.
- What is your long-term vision? If you truly succeed, what will be different about the world?
- The founders envision 1 million small-scale Bioforge mills producing basic chemical building blocks from recycled waste streams such as cardboard.
Summarized from the founders' answers on their Y Combinator profile.
Images
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Solugen went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors · 1
by search overlapCompanies competing with Solugen for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does Solugen do?
- Solugen develops a biomanufacturing platform using fermentation and bioprocessing technology to produce specialty chemicals at scale. The company serves customers in energy, chemicals, and related industries with cost-effective alternatives to traditional petrochemical-based manufacturing.
- Who founded Solugen?
- Solugen was founded by Sean Hunt, Gaurab Chakrabarti in 2017.
- Who are Solugen's investors?
- Solugen's investors include Fifty Years, Founders Fund, Lowercarbon Capital, Y Combinator, Baillie Gifford, GIC, KdT Ventures, Refactor Capital and 21 more.
- How much funding has Solugen raised?
- Solugen has disclosed $475.9M raised across 5 rounds.
- Where is Solugen headquartered?
- Solugen is headquartered in Houston, US.