All the fundraising deals in the synthetic biology market (from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026)
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The synthetic biology market raised over $664 million across 33 disclosed deals between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026.
Funding stayed active throughout the five quarters, with Q1 2025 and Q4 2025 being the two strongest periods by total capital raised.
From precision fermentation food startups to DNA synthesis tools and biomanufacturing infrastructure, the range of funded companies shows that investors are betting on synthetic biology across the full value chain.
And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the synthetic biology market.
Insights
- Precision fermentation food was the single largest funding category in the synthetic biology market over the last five quarters, pulling in $184.56M across 8 deals, which shows that ingredient businesses with clear B2B buyers are still the most investor-friendly wedge in synbio right now.
- The tools and platform category attracted $173M across 6 deals, confirming that investors continue to favor picks-and-shovels businesses in the synthetic biology space that can sell to many end markets rather than betting on one product.
- Q4 2025 saw the highest deal count of any quarter in this analysis with 12 deals, suggesting a notable rebound in synthetic biology funding activity after a quieter Q3 2025.
- Q3 2025 was the quietest quarter by far with only 2 disclosed deals totaling $27M, which is a 67% drop from Q2 2025 and likely reflects a seasonal funding lull rather than a structural shift in investor appetite.
- The two largest rounds across all five quarters, Antheia's $56M Series C and The EVERY Company's $55M Series D, both went to companies commercializing biosynthetic ingredients, reinforcing that late-stage capital in synthetic biology flows to businesses closest to revenue.
- European startups account for roughly half of all deals in this dataset, yet the biggest individual checks still went predominantly to US-headquartered companies, pointing to a funding gap between European deal volume and European round size.
- Strategic corporate investors showed up in at least 6 rounds across the dataset, including DSM-Firmenich, Fonterra, Ingredion, Beiersdorf, and Valio, signaling that food and materials incumbents are increasingly using synthetic biology investments as supply-chain hedges.
- Lowercarbon Capital and Sofinnova Partners are the only investors in this dataset to appear in more than one deal, which highlights how fragmented the synthetic biology investor base still is compared to more mature tech sectors.
- The average synthetic biology deal size across all five quarters sits at roughly $20M, but that number is heavily skewed by a handful of large rounds; the median deal is closer to $13-15M, which reflects a market where most companies are still at early commercial stages.
- DNA synthesis and cell programming tools, represented by Ansa Biotechnologies ($54.4M) and bit.bio ($50M), attracted some of the largest single checks in the dataset, pointing to strong investor conviction that fundamental biological infrastructure will be as valuable as the applications built on top of it.
- Q1 2026 already shows $111M raised across 5 deals in just the first three months of the year, putting it on pace to match or exceed the strongest quarters of 2025 if deal flow continues at this rate.
In our synthetic biology market deck, we will give you useful market maps and grids
Summary table of the funding deals in the synthetic biology market (last 5 quarters)
We define the synthetic biology market as the set of tools, platforms, and products that rely on engineering biological systems using designed DNA, genetic circuits, or engineered organisms.
We include specialized synbio tools and software, biofoundry and automation platforms, and end-use applications in areas like food, agriculture, health, chemicals, and materials where synthetic biology is a core part of how the product is created or performs.
We exclude conventional biotech and pharmaceuticals, basic GMOs, and traditional fermentation or bio-based products where modern synthetic biology methods are not central to the design or production process.
You can also read our detailed analysis to understand how funding activity in the synthetic biology market has evolved over the last few years.
Also, you should know that we have a dedicated page, updated weekly, with all the latest fundraising deals in the synthetic biology market.
| Name | What they do | Amount | Quarter | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberation Labs | Builds large-scale precision fermentation plants for synbio and food-tech manufacturers. | $50.5M | Q1 2025 | liberation.bio |
| Latent Labs | Builds AI foundation models that help scientists design and optimize proteins. | $50.0M | Q1 2025 | TechCrunch |
| Vivici | Makes dairy proteins like whey and lactoferrin via precision fermentation instead of cows. | $34.0M | Q1 2025 | AgFunderNews |
| Aleph Farms | Develops cultivated beef from bovine cells using lower-cost bioprocessing. | $29.0M | Q1 2025 | AgFunderNews |
| Oobli | Makes sweet proteins via precision fermentation so food companies can reduce sugar content. | $18.0M | Q1 2025 | PR Newswire |
| Epoch Biodesign | Engineers enzymes that break down hard-to-recycle plastics and textile waste. | $18.3M | Q1 2025 | TechCrunch |
| Enduro Genetics | Uses genetic circuits to keep production microbes locked into high-output fermentation. | $13.2M | Q1 2025 | enduro.bio |
| Arsenale Bioyards | Builds an AI-led biomanufacturing platform designed to cut fermentation cost and time. | $10.0M | Q1 2025 | EU-Startups |
| Differential Bio | Uses AI and lab automation to model fermentation scale-up before companies run physical trials. | $2.16M | Q1 2025 | differential.bio |
| Antheia | Engineers yeast-based pathways to make critical pharmaceutical ingredients via biosynthesis. | $56.0M | Q2 2025 | antheia.bio |
| Intake | Develops alternative proteins using gene-edited yeast and precision fermentation. | $9.2M | Q2 2025 | Green Queen |
| Trilobio | Builds a robotic "lab in a box" platform to automate routine biology experiments. | $8.0M | Q2 2025 | Fenoms Talent |
| Solena Materials | Makes next-generation protein fibers for textiles using engineered biology and materials science. | $6.7M | Q2 2025 | Tech.eu |
| PFx Biotech | Makes human-milk proteins such as lactoferrin via precision fermentation. | $2.86M | Q2 2025 | EU-Startups |
| AmphiStar | Uses synthetic biology and fermentation to make biosurfactants from waste streams. | $13.5M | Q3 2025 | EU-Startups |
| Fermelanta | Engineers microbes to produce complex plant metabolites that are hard to source conventionally. | $13.6M | Q3 2025 | AgFunderNews |
| The EVERY Company | Makes egg proteins via precision fermentation for food manufacturers. | $55.0M | Q4 2025 | AgFunderNews |
| Ansa Biotechnologies | Offers enzymatic DNA synthesis for faster, higher-quality synthetic DNA. | $54.4M | Q4 2025 | GenomeWeb |
| Galatek | Builds AI-driven automation systems for life-science workflows. | $30.0M | Q4 2025 | AI Insider |
| Mosa Meat | Develops cultivated beef using bovine cell culture and serum-free methods. | $17.6M | Q4 2025 | AgFunderNews |
| Aether Biomachines | Uses AI to design proteins and biomaterials for industrial use cases like PFAS cleanup. | $15.0M | Q4 2025 | Tech Startups |
| Number 8 Bio | Develops biology-based capsules that reduce methane emissions from livestock. | $11.0M | Q4 2025 | Startup Daily |
| Melt&Marble | Makes designer fats via precision fermentation for food and beauty applications. | $8.6M | Q4 2025 | EU-Startups |
| Nutropy | Makes dairy casein proteins via precision fermentation for cheese alternatives that melt and stretch. | $8.1M | Q4 2025 | Mycostories |
| All G | Makes lactoferrin and milk proteins via precision fermentation for the APAC market. | $6.6M | Q4 2025 | AgFunderNews |
| Erg Bio | Converts waste biomass into intermediates for fuels and chemicals using engineered biology. | $6.5M | Q4 2025 | GlobeNewswire |
| Asterix Foods | Uses plant cell culture to make bioactive proteins for food applications. | $4.2M | Q4 2025 | IndieBio |
| Immobazyme | Makes growth factors and enzymes via precision fermentation for B2B buyers. | $1.5M | Q4 2025 | Vegconomist |
| bit.bio | Programs human cells into reproducible, off-the-shelf cell types for drug discovery and toxicology. | $50.0M | Q1 2026 | bit.bio |
| Verley | Makes whey protein via precision fermentation, targeting commercial rollout in France and the US. | $38.0M | Q1 2026 | AgFunderNews |
| Biographica | Uses AI and machine learning to find better gene-editing targets for crop improvement. | $9.5M | Q1 2026 | AgFunderNews |
| baCta | Engineers microorganisms as programmable factories for industrial ingredients like astaxanthin. | $8.1M | Q1 2026 | EU-Startups |
| Octarine Bio | Engineers microorganisms to make natural colorants for textiles and other applications. | $5.4M | Q1 2026 | EU-Startups |
In our synthetic biology market deck, we identify pain points entrepreneurs should prioritize
How has funding activity in the synthetic biology market changed over time?
Q1 2025 was the most active quarter by total capital raised ($225M), largely driven by three mega deals: Liberation Labs ($50.5M), Latent Labs ($50M), and Vivici ($34M) together accounting for nearly 60% of all Q1 2025 funding.
Q3 2025 was the quietest quarter by a wide margin, with just 2 disclosed deals totaling $27M, which is likely a seasonal lull rather than a signal of reduced long-term interest in the synthetic biology market.
From Q4 2025 to Q1 2026, total synthetic biology funding dropped from $218.5M to $111M (a 49% decline), but Q1 2026 is an early-in-year figure covering only 5 deals, and it already outpaces Q3 2025 by more than four times. Looking one year back, Q1 2026 ($111M) is roughly half of Q1 2025 ($225M), though Q1 2025 benefited from an unusually dense cluster of large rounds.
If you strip out the single largest deal in each quarter (Liberation Labs in Q1 2025, Antheia in Q2 2025, Fermelanta in Q3 2025, The EVERY Company in Q4 2025, and bit.bio in Q1 2026), the remaining deals consistently cluster in the $8M to $30M range, suggesting that the underlying synthetic biology funding pipeline is healthy and relatively stable even when headline numbers fluctuate.
| Quarter | Number of deals | Total raised ($) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 9 | $225M | Strongest quarter driven by three deals above $29M each, representing 59.7% of total. |
| Q2 2025 | 5 | $83M | Antheia's $56M Series C dominated the quarter, accounting for 68% of total funding. |
| Q3 2025 | 2 | $27M | Quietest quarter; only 2 deals disclosed, both in the $13-14M range. |
| Q4 2025 | 12 | $219M | Strongest quarter by deal count; two mega deals above $50M anchored total funding. |
| Q1 2026 | 5 | $111M | Solid early-year start; bit.bio and Verley account for 80% of quarter funding. |
| All quarters | 33 | $665M | Five-quarter total across all disclosed synthetic biology funding rounds. |
In our synthetic biology market deck, we identify repeatable patterns you can use if you’re building in this market
Which startups in the synthetic biology market raised the largest rounds over the last months?
These startups raised the most recently in the synthetic biology market:
- Antheia raised $56M in Series C to commercialize thebaine and expand its biosynthetic pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing in the US and Asia, backed by Singapore's GHIC and EDBI as co-leads.
- The EVERY Company raised $55M in Series D to support nationwide rollout and scale commercial manufacturing of precision-fermented egg proteins for food manufacturers.
- Ansa Biotechnologies raised $54.4M in Series B to scale enzymatic DNA synthesis capacity and meet growing global demand for high-quality synthetic DNA.
- Liberation Labs raised $50.5M in a convertible note to finish and ramp its first commercial-scale precision fermentation plant in Indiana, providing infrastructure for the wider synbio ecosystem.
- Latent Labs raised $50M in launch financing to build AI foundation models that generate and optimize proteins for biotech and pharma partners, led by Radical Ventures and Sofinnova.
- bit.bio raised $50M in Series C to scale its human cell programming platform globally, enabling reproducible off-the-shelf cell types for drug discovery, led by M&G Investments.
- Verley raised $38M in Series A to commercialize precision-fermented whey protein and prepare for expansion into the US market, led by Alven with Sofinnova participating.
- Vivici raised $34M in Series A to expand its animal-free dairy protein business into higher-value ingredients like lactoferrin, with backing from Invest-NL, APG, DSM-Firmenich, and Fonterra.
- Galatek raised $30M in Series A to expand its AI-driven life-science automation systems into Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia from its Singapore base.
- Aleph Farms raised $29M to expand pilot production of cultivated beef and transition to a lower-cost manufacturing process for whole-cut products.
And, yes, we do cover most of them in our beautiful pitch about the synthetic biology market.
You may also want to check our ranking of the most funded startups in the synthetic biology market as well as our list of the most valued startups.
In our synthetic biology market deck, we answer all the common questions from investors and entrepreneurs
Is the synthetic biology market shifting toward smaller or bigger deals?
The average deal size in the synthetic biology market across all five quarters is about $20M, but that figure is pulled upward by a handful of very large rounds, so it does not reflect the typical synthetic biology funding round.
The average deal size was $25M in Q1 2025, dropped to $16.5M in Q2 2025, fell further to $13.5M in Q3 2025, then rebounded to $18.2M in Q4 2025, and sits at $22.2M in Q1 2026. The variation across quarters is mostly explained by how many large anchor deals happened to close in each period, not by a structural shift in investor appetite.
If you strip out the top two deals per quarter, the remaining synthetic biology rounds cluster consistently in the $6M to $20M range across all five quarters, which suggests the core deal market is stable and that the headline averages are misleading.
| Quarter | Number of deals | Average deal size ($) | Deals below $2M | Deals above $50M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 9 | $25.0M | 0 | 1 |
| Q2 2025 | 5 | $16.6M | 0 | 1 |
| Q3 2025 | 2 | $13.6M | 0 | 0 |
| Q4 2025 | 12 | $18.2M | 1 | 2 |
| Q1 2026 | 5 | $22.2M | 0 | 0 |
| All quarters | 33 | $20.2M | 1 | 4 |
In our synthetic biology market deck, we help you understand how the market is structured
How concentrated was funding activity in the synthetic biology market?
Funding concentration in the synthetic biology market was highest in Q2 2025 and Q3 2025, where the top deal alone accounted for 68% and 50% of all quarterly capital respectively, which shows that a single large check can define an entire quarter when overall deal volume is low. By contrast, Q1 2025 and Q4 2025 were more distributed because both had enough deals to spread capital more broadly.
Even in the busiest quarter (Q4 2025 with 12 deals), the top 3 synthetic biology deals still captured 64% of total funding, a reminder that capital concentration is a structural feature of this market, not an exception.
| Quarter | Number of deals | % by Top 1 | % by Top 3 | % by Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 9 | 22.4% | 59.7% | 100.0% |
| Q2 2025 | 5 | 67.7% | 88.4% | 100.0% |
| Q3 2025 | 2 | 50.2% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Q4 2025 | 12 | 25.2% | 63.8% | 97.4% |
| Q1 2026 | 5 | 45.0% | 87.8% | 100.0% |
| All quarters | 33 | ~8.4% | ~22.8% | ~63.0% |
In our synthetic biology market deck, we have designed useful charts to give you full market clarity
Which categories in the synthetic biology market received the most funding?
Precision fermentation food was the top-funded category in the synthetic biology market, pulling in $184.6M across 8 deals (about 28% of total capital), because investors are drawn to ingredient businesses with clear B2B buyers, established food-company partnerships, and regulatory pathways that are far simpler than drug development. The combination of near-term commercial viability and multiple large follow-on rounds (Vivici, The EVERY Company, Verley) shows this category is moving from proof of concept to commercial scale.
Tools and platform companies captured $173M across 6 deals (around 26% of total), a signal that investors continue to back picks-and-shovels infrastructure in the synthetic biology market that can sell to many end markets at once. Latent Labs, Ansa Biotechnologies, and bit.bio each raised $50M or more in this category, confirming that large checks are available for platform businesses with broad applicability.
Industrial chemicals and materials attracted $120M across 6 deals (roughly 18% of total), spanning enzymatic recycling, biosurfactants, protein fibers, and natural colorants. This category is the most diverse by application, which suggests investors see multiple viable commercial wedges rather than a single dominant use case in the synthetic biology materials space.
| Category name | Number of deals | Total raised ($) | Startups and amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precision fermentation food | 8 | $184.6M | Vivici ($34M), Oobli ($18M), Intake ($9.2M), PFx Biotech ($2.86M), The EVERY Company ($55M), Melt&Marble ($8.6M), Nutropy ($8.1M), Verley ($38M), All G ($6.6M) |
| Tools & platform | 6 | $173.1M | Latent Labs ($50M), Differential Bio ($2.16M), Ansa Biotechnologies ($54.4M), Aether Biomachines ($15M), bit.bio ($50M), Immobazyme ($1.5M) |
| Industrial chemicals & materials | 6 | $120.0M | Epoch Biodesign ($18.3M), Antheia ($56M), Solena Materials ($6.7M), AmphiStar ($13.5M), Fermelanta ($13.6M), Octarine Bio ($5.4M) |
In our synthetic biology market deck, we cover the latest tech updates shaping the market
Who are the biggest investors in the synthetic biology market?
Lowercarbon Capital is the most active investor in this dataset with 2 deals (Epoch Biodesign and Trilobio), which makes sense given the fund's explicit focus on climate and sustainability technologies where synthetic biology is an increasingly central tool.
Sofinnova Partners also appeared in 2 deals (Latent Labs and Verley), reflecting the firm's consistent interest in life-science platforms that sit at the intersection of biology and commercial application.
Disclaimer: this investor list may be incomplete; we focus on publicly disclosed lead and prominent recurring investors, so some frequent minority participants may be underrepresented. "Total funded" does not represent the amount personally invested by an individual investor. Instead, it refers to the aggregate amount raised across all fundraising rounds in which the investor participated.
| Investor | Number of deals | Total funded ($) | Startups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowercarbon Capital | 2 | $26.3M | Epoch Biodesign, Trilobio |
| Sofinnova Partners | 2 | $88.0M | Latent Labs, Verley |
In our synthetic biology market deck, we track adoption trends and shifts in consumer behavior
Related blog posts
- All the funding deals in the synthetic biology market
- The startups that have raised the most funding in synthetic biology
