Which startups have raised the most funding in the synthetic biology market?

Last updated: 13 July 2026

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In our synthetic biology market deck, you will find everything you need to understand the market

The synthetic biology market is one of the most capital-intensive areas in biotech, with large funding totals across biofoundries, precision fermentation, gene editing, cell therapy, and engineered materials.

This list ranks the top synthetic biology startups by cumulative funding raised, and we update it every month to keep the data fresh.

The ranking shows a market shaped by a few very large platforms, while dozens of smaller companies keep building in food, chemicals, therapeutics, DNA synthesis, and lab automation.

And if you want to better understand this new industry, you can download our pitch covering the synthetic biology market.

A quick summary table

Metric Value
Most funded startup Ginkgo Bioworks, $2.5B raised
Second most funded startup Impossible Foods, $2.0B raised
Largest funding round Ginkgo Bioworks, $1.6B SPAC PIPE in September 2021
Median funding About $100.5M across the full ranked dataset
Share of funding captured by the top 10 About 59% of the cleaner funding pool
Median time since last round About 3 years since the latest disclosed round
Startups that raised funding in the last 12 months 16 companies raised funding between July 2025 and July 2026
Synthetic biology billion-dollar funding club 5 startups have raised at least $1.0B
Precision fermentation funding leaders Perfect Day, The EVERY Company, Geltor, Remilk, Formo, and Verley lead the segment
Therapeutics synthetic biology capital pool Generate Biomedicines, ArsenalBio, Tessera, Senti, and Obsidian raised about $3.2B combined
Chart illustrating yearly VC funding for synthetic biology startups

This chart, featured in our synthetic biology market deck, illustrates yearly VC funding for synthetic biology startups

Top startups in the synthetic biology market ranked by total funding raised

Here is an updated table that ranks the top startups in the synthetic biology market based on the total amount of funding they have raised to date.

The table also includes the total number of funding rounds, the date and size of the latest round, the financing type (e.g. Series A, equity financing), key investors, the startup’s current status (active, IPO, acquired, or shut down), and a confidence score based on the data collected (we excluded startups with very low data confidence, to make sure everything is reliable).

If you're interested in knowing how much these startups are worth, you can check our list of the top startups in the synthetic biology market ranked by valuation.

# Startup What They Do Total Raised ($) Total Rounds Last Round Date Last Round Amount ($) Last Round Type Key Investors Current Stage Confidence
1 Ginkgo Bioworks Bio platform company $2.5B 6+ September 2021 $1.6B SPAC PIPE SoftBank, ARK, Viking IPO Strong
2 Impossible Foods Plant-based meat $2.0B 6 March 2020 $500M Series E Temasek, Coatue Active Strong
3 Amyris Synthetic chemicals $1.2B 6+ 2022 $400M Late-stage equity Temasek, BP Shutdown Strong
4 Generate Biomedicines AI-designed protein therapeutics $1.1B 5 February 2026 $400M IPO Flagship Pioneering, Amgen, NVentures IPO Strong
5 Perfect Day Animal-free dairy proteins $1.0B 5 September 2021 $350M Series D CPP Investments, Temasek Active Strong
6 Zymergen Bio materials company $900M 5 September 2020 $300M Series E SoftBank, Temasek Acquired Strong
7 ArsenalBio Programmable cancer cell therapies $630M 3 September 2024 $325M Series C ARCH Venture Partners, Regeneron Ventures, NVentures Active Full
8 Tessera Therapeutics Gene writing therapeutics $610M 3 April 2022 $300M Series C ADIA, Alaska Permanent Fund, Flagship Pioneering Active Strong
9 Solugen Green chemicals $600M 4 2023 $200M Extension Temasek, GIC Active Strong
10 Pivot Bio Microbial ag inputs $600M 5 2023 $50M Extension Gates, DCVC Active Strong
11 Senti Biosciences Gene circuit cell therapies $502M 4 January 2025 $48M Post-IPO PIPE Celadon Partners, NEA, Leaps by Bayer IPO Strong
12 Bolt Threads Bio textiles $500M 5 June 2021 $250M Series D SoftBank, Temasek Active Strong
13 Inscripta Digital genome engineering platform $495M 9 December 2022 $28M Late-stage extension Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Foresite Capital Acquired Partial
14 Spiber Fermented protein textile materials $491M 8 April 2024 $65M Series E The Carlyle Group, Fidelity Investments, Baillie Gifford Active Strong
15 Synthego CRISPR genome engineering tools $460M 7 February 2022 $200M Series E Perceptive Advisors, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, RA Capital Acquired Strong
16 Benchling Biotech SaaS $420M 4 2022 $75M Series D Sequoia, Benchmark Active Strong
17 Genomatica / Geno Bio-based chemicals and materials $388M 8 August 2021 Undisclosed Strategic equity Novo Holdings, Casdin Capital, Viking Global Investors Active Partial
18 Motif FoodWorks Plant-based ingredient biotechnology $344M 4 May 2022 Undisclosed Series B extension Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, BlackRock, General Atlantic Shutdown Full
19 Obsidian Therapeutics Engineered cell therapies $326M 3 April 2024 $161M Series C Wellington Management, Novo Holdings, Logos Capital Active Strong
20 DNA Script Enzymatic DNA printing platform $315M 4 January 2022 $200M Series C Coatue, Catalio, T. Rowe Price Active Strong
21 Arbor Biotechnologies CRISPR genetic medicine platform $305M 3 March 2025 $74M Series C ARCH Venture Partners, TCGX, Abrdn Active Partial
22 Twist Bioscience DNA synthesis $300M 4 October 2017 $100M Series D Baillie Gifford, Fidelity IPO Strong
23 The EVERY Company Animal-free egg proteins $287M 5 November 2025 $55M Series D McWin Capital Partners, Main Sequence, Bloom8 Active Strong
24 Opentrons Automated lab robotics platform $271M 18 December 2025 $20M Series C-II SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator Active Partial
25 Mammoth Biosciences CRISPR therapeutics and diagnostics $263M 5 September 2021 $150M Series D Redmile Group, Foresite Capital, Sixth Street Active Strong
26 Chroma Medicine Epigenetic editing medicines $260M 3 March 2023 $135M Series B GV, ARCH Venture Partners, Sixth Street Active Strong
27 bit.bio Programmed human cell products $233M 5 January 2026 $50M Series C M&G Investments, ARCH Venture Partners, Tencent Active Partial
28 Tune Therapeutics Epigenome editing therapeutics $215M 2 January 2025 $175M Series B NEA, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures Active Full
29 Strand Therapeutics Programmable mRNA therapeutics $211M 3 August 2025 $153M Series B Kinnevik, Regeneron Ventures, ICONIQ Active Partial
30 Asimov Genetic design and manufacturing platform $205M 3 January 2023 $175M Series B CPP Investments, Fidelity, Casdin Capital Active Strong
31 MycoWorks Mycelium leather materials $187M 3 January 2022 $125M Series C Prime Movers Lab, DCVC Bio, Novo Holdings Active Partial
32 Hexagon Bio Microbial genome drug discovery $185M 3 February 2023 $77M Series B The Column Group, Two Sigma Ventures, CPP Investments Active Partial
33 Modern Meadow Biofabricated leather materials $184M 3 April 2021 $130M Series C Key Partners Capital, Astanor Ventures, Horizons Ventures Active Partial
34 Synlogic Synthetic biotic medicines $151M 4 June 2019 $80M Post-IPO PIPE Ginkgo Bioworks IPO Partial
35 Profluent AI protein design $150M 3 November 2025 $106M Series B Altimeter Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Spark Capital Active Full
36 EvolutionaryScale AI protein generation $142M 1 June 2024 $142M Seed Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Lux Capital Active Full
37 Geltor Animal-free collagen proteins $137M 5 August 2025 $21M Equity financing Starlight Ventures, iSelect Fund, Cultivian Sandbox Active Strong
38 Ansa Biotechnologies Long DNA synthesis services $132M 4 October 2025 $54M Series B Cerberus Ventures, Northpond Ventures, RA Capital Active Strong
39 Ecovative Mycelium materials platform $131M 5 March 2025 $11M Series E / equity Viking Global Investors, AiiM Partners, FootPrint Coalition Ventures Active Partial
40 Remilk Animal-free dairy proteins $131M 2 January 2022 $120M Series B Hanaco Ventures, fresh.fund, OurCrowd Active Full
41 Debut Biotech ingredients for beauty $119M 5 August 2025 $20M Series B / venture EDBI, BOLD, Material Impact Active Partial
42 Formo Fermented dairy alternatives $116M 3 September 2024 $61M Series B EQT Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, FoodLabs Active Full
43 Octant Multiplexed drug discovery platform $115M 4 April 2022 $80M Series B Catalio Capital, Bristol Myers Squibb, a16z Bio Active Strong
44 Sherlock Biosciences CRISPR molecular diagnostics $111M 2 March 2022 $80M Series B Novalis LifeSciences, Illumina Ventures, Catalio Capital Management Acquired Strong
45 Checkerspot Fermented oils for biomaterials $109M 4 February 2023 $55M Series C ArrowMark Partners, Cox Enterprises, Viking Global Active Strong
46 AMSilk Biofabricated silk proteins $104M 5 September 2025 $35M Series D / mixed financing ATHOS, MIG Capital, Novo Holdings Active Partial
47 Cradle AI-powered protein engineering $103M 3 November 2024 $73M Series B IVP, Index Ventures, Kindred Capital Active Strong
48 Culture Biosciences Cloud biomanufacturing platform $101M 4 December 2025 Undisclosed Series C Northpond Ventures, Synthesis Capital, S32 Active Strong
49 Nobell Foods / Alpine Bio Molecular-farmed dairy proteins $100M 3 July 2021 $75M Series B Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, FootPrint Coalition Active Partial
50 Viridos Algae biofuels platform $100M 4 March 2023 $25M Series A Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Chevron, United Airlines Ventures Acquired Partial
51 Strateos Robotic cloud lab platform $99M 6 June 2021 $56M Series B DCVC, Lux Capital, Eli Lilly Active Partial
52 Cellino Autonomous cell therapy manufacturing $96M 2 January 2022 $80M Series A Leaps by Bayer, 8VC, Humboldt Fund Active Strong
53 Arzeda AI protein design enzymes $91M 4 August 2025 $5M Equity, undisclosed stage Sofinnova Partners, Conti Ventures, OS Fund Active Strong
54 GRO Biosciences Expanded-code protein therapeutics $87M 3 July 2024 $60M Series B Atlas Venture, Access Biotechnology, Leaps by Bayer Active Partial
55 Basecamp Research Biodiversity AI protein discovery $85M 3 October 2024 $60M Series B Singular, S32, redalpine Active Partial
56 Constructive Bio Synthetic genomes and biomolecules $75M 3 September 2024 $58M Series A Ahren, OMX Ventures, Paladin Capital Group Active Strong
57 Synthace Biology automation software $73M 4 November 2021 $35M Series C Horizons Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, SOSV Active Strong
58 Evonetix Semiconductor DNA synthesis platform $66M 3 February 2023 $24M Series B extension Foresite Capital, DCVC, Molten Ventures Active Strong
59 Molecular Assemblies Enzymatic DNA synthesis technology $64M 4 March 2022 $26M Series B Casdin Capital, iSelect Fund, Agilent Technologies Active Strong
60 64x Bio Cell lines for gene therapy $60M 3 January 2022 $55M Series A Lifeforce Capital, Northpond Ventures, First Round Capital Active Partial
61 Locus Biosciences CRISPR phage antimicrobials $59M 3 May 2022 $35M Series B ARTIS Ventures, Viking Global Investors, JJDC Active Partial
62 Onego Bio Animal-free egg proteins $57M 3 July 2024 $15M Series A extension EIC Fund, NordicNinja, Agronomics Active Partial
63 Catalog DNA data storage computing $54M 3 September 2021 $35M Series B Hanwha Impact, Horizons Ventures, Airbus Ventures Acquired Strong
64 Eligo Bioscience Microbiome gene editing $53M 3 December 2023 $30M Series B Sanofi Ventures, Bpifrance, Khosla Ventures Active Strong
65 Verley Precision-fermented whey proteins $50M 3 February 2026 $30M Series A Alven, Blast, Sofinnova Partners Active Strong
66 Standing Ovation Precision-fermented casein proteins $45M 3 March 2026 $29M Series B Bpifrance, Crédit Mutuel Innovation, Danone Ventures Active Strong
67 Colorifix Biological textile dyeing $44M 3 June 2025 $18M Series B2 Inter IKEA Group, H&M Group, Cambridge Enterprise Active Strong
68 Lygos Bio-based specialty chemicals $41M 4+ February 2021 Undisclosed Strategic equity IA Ventures, First Round Capital, LG Technology Ventures Active Partial
69 Emerald Cloud Lab Remote automated cloud laboratory $40M 4 June 2022 Undisclosed Series C preferred Trinity Capital, WTI, Incite Ventures Active Low
70 TurtleTree Cell-cultured dairy ingredients $39M 3 November 2021 $30M Series A VERSO Capital, Green Monday Ventures, KBW Ventures Active Strong
71 Shiru AI-designed functional proteins $37M 3 November 2024 $16M Series B S2G Ventures, CPT Capital, Lux Capital Active Full
72 Vivici Precision-fermented dairy proteins $34M 1 February 2025 $34M Series A APG / ABP, Invest-NL, InnovationQuarter Active Partial
73 Volta Labs Genomics sample-prep automation $33M 2 January 2024 $13M Series A-II Maverick Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Casdin Capital Active Partial
74 All G Precision-fermented dairy proteins $30M 2 August 2022 $18M Series A Agronomics, New Agrarian Company, CEFC Active Strong
75 New Culture Animal-free cheese casein $29M 4 November 2022 Undisclosed Strategic funding CJ CheilJedang, Ahren Innovation Capital, CPT Capital Active Partial
76 Imagindairy Animal-free milk proteins $28M 2 May 2022 $15M Seed extension Target Global, MoreVC, Strauss Group Active Strong
77 Rubi Laboratories CO₂-to-materials enzymes $26M 4 March 2026 $8M Undisclosed / Series A-like AP Ventures, FH One Investments, H&M Group Active Partial
78 ZymoChem Bio-based materials manufacturing $25M 2 January 2024 $21M Series A Breakout Ventures, lululemon, Toyota Ventures Active Strong
79 PILI Bio-based dyes and pigments $25M 4 February 2023 $16M Series A Bpifrance, Famille C Participations, Elaia Partners Active Partial
80 Better Dairy Animal-free dairy proteins $24M 2 January 2022 $22M Series A Redalpine, Vorwerk, Happiness Capital Active Full
81 String Bio Methane-to-products biotechnology $24M 3 July 2022 $20M Series B Woodside Energy, Ankur Capital, Dare Ventures Active Full
82 Eden Brew Animal-free dairy proteins $23M 3 October 2023 $15M Series A Main Sequence, Breakthrough Victoria, Orkla Active Strong
83 BioPhero Fermented insect pheromones $21M 2 March 2021 $17M Series A DCVC Bio, FMC Ventures, Novo Holdings Acquired Full
84 Ribbon Biolabs Long DNA synthesis technology $20M 2 January 2022 $20M Series A Hadean Ventures, Lansdowne Partners, Helicase Venture Active Strong
85 Liberation Labs Precision fermentation manufacturing $20M 1 December 2022 $20M Seed Agronomics, Siddhi Capital, CPT Capital Active Partial
86 AlgiKnit / Keel Labs Kelp-derived textile fibers $17M 4 June 2022 $13M Series A Collaborative Fund, H&M CO:LAB, Horizons Ventures Active Strong
87 Huue Bio-based indigo dye $17M 2 July 2022 $15M Series A Material Impact, HSBC Climate Tech VC, SOSV Active Full
88 Tierra Biosciences Cell-free custom protein synthesis $17M 3 March 2024 $11M Series A Material Impact, Prosus Ventures, In-Q-Tel Active Partial
89 Protera AI protein design platform $16M 3 July 2021 $10M Series A Sofinnova Partners, Bimbo Group, ICL Planet Active Strong
90 Change Foods Animal-free cheese proteins $15M 3 February 2022 $12M Seed extension Route 66 Ventures, Upfield, Blue Horizon Ventures Active Strong
91 Melt&Marble Precision-fermented designer fats $15M 3 December 2025 $9M Series A Industrifonden, EIC Fund, Beiersdorf Active Full
92 Octarine Bio Fermented sustainable pigments $14M 4 January 2026 $6M Series A extension The Footprint Firm, Unconventional Ventures, Oskare Capital Active Partial
93 Enduro Genetics Bioproduction cell reprogramming $12M 2 February 2025 $12M Series A Supernova Invest, NOON Ventures, Sandwater Active Partial
94 Solena Materials AI-designed protein fibers $11M 2 May 2025 $7M Seed Sir David Harding, SynBioVen, Insempra Active Full
95 Michroma Fungi-based natural food colors $7M 3 February 2023 $6M Seed Supply Change Capital, Be8 Ventures, CJ CheilJedang Active Partial
96 Wild Microbes Engineered microbes for biomanufacturing $3M 1 February 2023 $3M Pre-seed Climate Capital Bio, Freeflow, Agronomics Active Strong
97 TeselaGen Synthetic biology design software $2M 1 January 2018 $2M Seed Baruch Future Ventures, undisclosed Active Low
98 Daisy Lab Precision-fermented dairy proteins $1M 1 March 2023 $1M Seed The Values Trust, Icehouse Ventures, Outset Ventures Active Strong
Market map chart showing top companies and startups in the synthetic biology market

This market map, featured in our synthetic biology market deck, highlights top companies and startups in the synthetic biology market

Key funding trends in the synthetic biology market

Insights

  • The top five synthetic biology startups raised about $7.8B combined, which shows how much capital is concentrated in a small group of platform companies.
  • The top 10 synthetic biology companies account for about $11.1B, nearly 60% of the cleaner funding pool, so late-stage winners strongly shape market totals.
  • Food, ingredients, and bio-based chemicals remain a major funding cluster, with Impossible Foods, Perfect Day, Solugen, Pivot Bio, and Motif FoodWorks totaling about $4.5B.
  • Therapeutics-focused synthetic biology is gaining weight, with Generate Biomedicines, ArsenalBio, Tessera, Senti Biosciences, and Obsidian Therapeutics raising about $3.2B together.
  • Scale-up risk is still very visible in synthetic biology, since Amyris and Motif FoodWorks absorbed about $1.5B before shutting down.
  • AI-native biology is changing funding patterns, as EvolutionaryScale raised a $142M seed round, larger than the lifetime funding of many later-stage synthetic biology startups.
  • Precision-fermentation dairy remains fragmented: Perfect Day dominates with $1.0B, while Formo, Remilk, Verley, Standing Ovation, and Better Dairy together raised about $366M.
  • Strategic investors are highly active in synthetic biology, especially Temasek, SoftBank, ARCH, Flagship, Novo Holdings, and major pharma or food groups.
Google Trends chart showing rising interest in gene editing

As this chart shows, and as featured in our synthetic biology market deck, search interest in gene editing has grown significantly

A few word about our methodology

As you can see, we built a database that ranks startups in the synthetic biology market based on their total cumulative fundraising. To create this ranking, we reviewed many sources and cross-checked information across multiple places.

Whenever possible, we prioritized official company communications, since company announcements are usually the most reliable source for synthetic biology funding amounts. When those were not available, we relied on reputable industry sources such as TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Financial Times or Forbes (to name a few).

We excluded random blogs, unverified websites, and any sources that could not be validated.

When funding rounds were announced in other currencies such as euros, Swiss francs, Singapore dollars, Australian dollars, or rupees, we converted them into approximate USD equivalents for consistency.

Sometimes different sources report slightly different numbers, or the exact round size is not fully disclosed. In those cases, we flag the uncertainty and assign a confidence label to each synthetic biology startup, visible in the last column.

Here is what they mean.

Full confidence: The company’s equity fundraising history can be reconstructed completely from public sources. The rounds, dates, amounts, and key investors are clearly identified, with no meaningful gaps.

Strong confidence: The fundraising history is largely complete and reliable. There may be a small missing detail, such as incomplete investor information or a minor round with limited data, but the overall record is clear.

Partial confidence: The main fundraising rounds can be identified, but the record is incomplete or somewhat mixed. Some rounds may be missing or certain funding events may be difficult to separate clearly.

Low confidence: Public information is too limited, inconsistent, or ambiguous to reliably reconstruct the company’s equity fundraising history.

When the confidence level is too low, we take a conservative approach and exclude the company from the ranking. We don’t want to include data that cannot be reliably verified.

This reflects how we conduct all our research, including the work behind our report covering the synthetic biology market.

In a world where LLMs hallucinate and unreliable information is everywhere, our goal is simple: provide data you can trust.

If you want the full detail on a specific calculation, feel free to contact us and we will gladly explain.

Finally, know that we update the dataset once per month, so come back here if you need fresh information.

Chart showing how Twist Bioscience is capturing share in the synthetic biology market

This chart, featured in our synthetic biology market deck, shows how Twist Bioscience is capturing share in synthetic biology

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