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Ginkgo Bioworks raises $290 million in Series E financing to grow its platform for cell programming
Sep. 23, 2019
Ginkgo Bioworks
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United StatesGinkgo Bioworks, the organism company, announced a Series E financing round of $290 million with participation from all existing major investors and other new investors including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., bringing the company's total funding to $719 million. The latest round of funding will be used to further expand the reach of Ginkgo's platform for cell programming, enabling greater access to the expertise, scale, resources, and technology needed to effectively harness the power of biology.
Companies across industries and of all sizes are starting to understand the potential of synthetic biology to replace costly or unsustainable manufacturing processes and solve pressing global challenges. Today's funding will propel Ginkgo's platform and enable its team of experienced organism engineers to unlock the full potential of biological engineering and deliver transformative technologies with far-reaching impact.
In the past two years, Ginkgo has grown through large partnerships across major industries, including a $122M deal to produce cultured cannabinoids with Cronos, a partnership with Roche for up to $160M to discover novel antibiotics, and an $80M investment in Synlogic to accelerate the development of living medicines. Last year, Ginkgo also launched its second spinout company, Motif Foodworks, with $117 million in funding, to address the need for better alternative proteins; this followed the launch of Joyn Bio in 2017 to bring more sustainable practices to the agriculture industry.
Most recently, Ginkgo established itself as a home for early-stage startups and entrepreneurs to build their biotech businesses. Through two new partnerships with Y Combinator and Petri, startups can access Ginkgo's platform and mentorship in exchange for equity. With access to Ginkgo, startups will now have a pathway to bring bold, world-changing ideas to fruition.
"Cells are programmable similar to computers because they run on digital code in the form of DNA," said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. "We believe Ginkgo has the best compiler and debugger for writing genetic code and we use it to program cells for customers in a range of industries. Today's fundraise will allow us to expand our technology and continue our drive to bring biology into every physical goods industry - materials, clothing, electronics, food, pharmaceuticals, and more. They are all biotech industries but just don't know it yet."
Source: Ginkgo Bioworks
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