Zymergen
Emeryville, US · Founded 2013 · Delaware corporation · 12 known investors
Find your way into Zymergen
466 people in our graph share verified history with the Zymergen team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Anthony Philippakisunlockedknows Josh Hoffman · together at Yale University (overlapped)
×9knows the team · via University of California, Berkeley
×2knows the team · via Yale University
Engineers microbes that make useful molecules for everyday materials (acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks).
Founders & leadership
Zymergen was founded in 2013 by Erik (Jed) Dean, Zachariah Serber, and Josh Hoffman.
E(
Erik (Jed) DeanCo-founder
ZS
Zachariah SerberCo-founder
JH
Josh HoffmaninCEO, Founder2013–2021Founder of Zymergen, which engineered microbes to produce molecules for material science applications (subsequently acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks).
ES
Enakshi SinghExecutive
AK
Aaron KimballExecutive
Board
Investors · 12
AME Cloud VenturesPalo Alto · $1M – $10M
Cota CapitalSan Francisco
DCVC (Data Collective)Palo Alto · $5M – $25M
Hemisphere Ventures LLCMckinney
Kindred VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $2M
Mission BiocapitalSan Francisco · $500K
Obvious VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $6M
Prelude VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $5M
Baillie Giffordreported · 2 sourcesEdinburgh
DFJreportedSan Mateo
SoftBank GroupreportedTokyo
True VenturesreportedSan Francisco · $500K – $3M
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$580.2M disclosed across 3 of 5 rounds · 2015–2020
- Undisclosed amountfourth round of fundingSep 2020
Baillie Gifford (lead)
Source ↗
▶$406.5MraisedDec 2018 · 20 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$406.5MraisedDec 2018 · 20 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Duane ValzExecutive Officer
- Judy GilbertExecutive Officer
- Steven ChuDirector
- Rohit SharmaDirector
- Enakshi SinghExecutive Officer
- Joshua HoffmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Aaron KimballExecutive Officer
- Zach SerberExecutive Officer
- Matt OckoDirector
- Paul JansenDirector
- Jed DeanExecutive Officer, Director
- Tom StephensonExecutive Officer
- Richard PietersExecutive Officer
- Deep NisharDirector
- Offering amount
- $450M
- Amount sold
- $406.5M
- Sales commissions
- $5M
- Placement agents
- J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
- First sale
- Nov 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2013
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$129.6MraisedOct 2016 · 13 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$129.6MraisedOct 2016 · 13 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Matt OckoDirector
- Deep NisharDirector
- Paul JansenDirector
- Sandra MileyExecutive Officer
- Jed DeanExecutive Officer
- Aaron KimballExecutive Officer
- Enakshi SinghExecutive Officer
- Rohit SharmaDirector
- Steven ChuDirector
- Zachariah SerberExecutive Officer, Director
- Joshua HoffmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Duane ValzExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $130M
- Amount sold
- $129.6M
- First sale
- Oct 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2013
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$44.1MraisedJun 2015 · 29 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
▶$44.1MraisedJun 2015 · 29 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
- Enakshi SinghExecutive Officer
- Erik (Jed) DeanExecutive Officer
- Matt OckoDirector
- Joshua HoffmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Paul JansenDirector
- Aaron KimballExecutive Officer
- Zachariah SerberExecutive Officer, Director
- Rohit SharmaDirector
- Offering amount
- $44.7M
- Amount sold
- $44.1M
- First sale
- Jun 2015
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2013
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Founder mafia
The Zymergen mafia →7 people who came through Zymergen went on to found or lead other companies.
Alex RosayProduct Operations ManagerFounded Cascade Biocatalysts +1David BeyerInvestorFounded ChartioMatt OckoDirectorFounded DcvcKarthik RamanSenior Product Manager, AutomationFounded Persist AIChristopher ShelnerStaff Program ManagerFounded Persist AIYongjin ParkScientist IFounded 1849 bioDavid BeyerInvestorFounded Chartio
In the news
Claim your share of the $125M Zymergen securities class action settlementclaimdepot.com · Jul 2026
Ginkgo Bioworks (YC S14) Takes on Zymergen with $45M in Series B Fundingtechcrunch.com · Jul 2015Frequently asked questions
- What does Zymergen do?
- Engineers microbes that make useful molecules for everyday materials (acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks).
- Who founded Zymergen?
- Zymergen was founded by Erik (Jed) Dean, Zachariah Serber, Josh Hoffman in 2013.
- Who are Zymergen's investors?
- Zymergen's investors include AME Cloud Ventures, Cota Capital, DCVC (Data Collective), Hemisphere Ventures LLC, Kindred Ventures, Mission Biocapital, Obvious Ventures, Prelude Ventures and 4 more.
- How much funding has Zymergen raised?
- Zymergen has disclosed $580.2M raised across 3 of its 5 known rounds.
- Where is Zymergen headquartered?
- Zymergen is headquartered in Emeryville, US.