Synthetic Biology Startups

Ginkgo Bioworks designs custom engineered organisms for customers across multiple markets, operating foundries that use software and hardware automation to scale the organism engineering process.

33 investors

Living Carbon develops precision-bred tree varieties and reforestation techniques to convert marginal land into carbon-sequestering ecosystems. The company targets climate mitigation through enhanced photosynthesis and biodiversity restoration.

16 investors

Opentrons builds pipetting robots that automate laboratory experiments for biologists and the scientific community. Its platform lets researchers share protocols and reproduce experimental results instead of performing repetitive benchwork by hand.

15 investors

ZBiotics is a synthetic biology company that genetically engineers probiotic bacteria for consumer health and nutraceutical uses. Its first product is an engineered probiotic that breaks down a toxic byproduct of alcohol, and it is developing additional engineered probiotics for other consumer health applications.

14 investors

1849 bio engineers microorganisms to make metal extraction from low-grade copper and gold ores economically viable for mining operations. The company applies advanced bioengineering techniques to develop microbes capable of processing ore types that existing biomining processes cannot handle, targeting the hundreds of billions of dollars in copper currently considered uneconomical to extract.

11 investors

Kopra Bio develops cancer immunotherapy technology that converts cancer cells into biofactories to produce their own destruction. The company operates in the biotech and cancer treatment space.

10 investors

ParcelBio develops APEXm, a proprietary mRNA platform that enhances protein expression for longer-lasting therapeutic effect compared to conventional mRNA technologies. The platform targets autoimmune disease, oncology, and therapeutic protein replacement applications.

10 investors

Abalone Bio develops activating antibodies (agonists) targeting hard-to-drug receptors such as G-protein coupled receptors, using engineered cells to measure antibody pharmacological activity at high throughput combined with machine learning. Its initial focus is cell-specific antibody drugs for obesity and metabolic disease aimed at avoiding the GI side effects associated with GLP-1 therapies.

9 investors

Adaptyv Bio develops technologies for protein engineering that enable the design and testing of new proteins for applications in medicine, industrial enzymes, and functional materials. The company serves protein engineers and researchers developing therapeutic and industrial biological products.

9 investors

EngageBio develops DNA-based medicines using proprietary non-viral delivery technology to achieve extended therapeutic expression from a single dose with low manufacturing complexity.

9 investors

Genecis Bio converts organic food waste into biodegradable bioplastics using synthetic biology. The company develops sustainable plastic alternatives aimed at reducing environmental impact.

9 investors

Humane Genomics develops oncolytic viral therapies designed to selectively target and kill cancer cells using engineered RNA viruses, particularly Vesicular Stomatitis Virus. The company leverages a computational platform for viral genome design and engineering to create cancer treatments with improved safety, efficacy, and manufacturing efficiency.

9 investors

Sensible Biotechnologies develops a cell-based mRNA design and manufacturing platform that produces pure, low immunogenicity mRNA therapeutics for drug development. The platform addresses limitations of synthetic mRNA by enabling design-based biology approaches.

9 investors

Ligo develops computational tools for enzyme design by combining large language models with specialized neural networks to enable scientists and AI agents to discover new enzymes and biological functions.

8 investors

Ansa provides an enzymatic DNA synthesis platform that directly synthesizes complex sequences up to 900 bp and delivers constructs up to 50 kb without assembly-based methods. It serves scientists in gene and cell therapies, antibody discovery, CDMOs, and agrigenomics.

7 investors

Synvivia develops chemical control technology over cell behavior to optimize the biomanufacturing of high-value biopharmaceutical products. It operates in the synthetic biology and drug discovery space.

7 investors

Birch Biosciences develops enzyme-based plastic recycling technologies using green chemistry and machine learning to transform plastic waste into reusable material. The company targets the plastic resin market with solutions for industrial and commercial recycling applications.

6 investors

Granza Bio develops immunotherapy treatments leveraging naturally-occurring attack particles that are released from cytotoxic immune cells to target diseases including cancers, autoimmunity, and infections.

6 investors

Invert provides infrastructure and intelligence software that connects bioprocess equipment and data sources for pharmaceutical and biologics companies, enabling faster process development and manufacturing through integrated data platforms and digital twin capabilities.

5 investors

Lygos was a performance materials company that used proprietary biology and chemistry to develop sustainable, high-performance ingredients and polymers. It scaled manufacturing and commercialized products across agriculture, cleaning, personal care, and other specialty-materials markets before concluding through two strategic sales.

5 investors

Epinoma develops EpiAmp, a methyl-preserving amplification technology to analyze epigenetic changes and methylation patterns for applications in disease detection, drug development, and patient stratification. The company serves research institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and clinical diagnostic organizations in the biotech and healthcare sectors.

4 investors

Modulari-T develops proprietary cell therapy technologies, including the MARC receptor and MoVe platform, based on primary research into immune system architecture. The company serves the cell therapy and immunotherapy market.

4 investors

inSoma Bio develops biomaterial products for reconstruction plastic surgery, enabling surgeons to use patients' own tissue instead of synthetic implants and fillers for breast and facial reconstruction procedures.

3 investors

Ohmic Biosciences develops engineered proteins and synthetic biology solutions to address diseases in crops. The company creates durable treatments applicable across different agricultural products.

2 investors