Ginkgo Bioworks announced that it has raised $45 million in an oversubscribed Series B round. Ginkgo Bioworks is at the intersection of industrial design and biology, delivering designer organisms built to specification for customers. The company specializes in engineering microbes to produce cultured ingredients such as flavors, fragrances, cosmetics and sweeteners. The latest round of funding will be used to expand to new product categories and build out the next phase of its state-of-the-art foundry in Boston.
Ginkgo Bioworks first received local funding from the MassVentures’ START program which supports the commercialization of Massachusetts-based companies developed under SBIR contracts. The company continued to demonstrate growth against its objectives, and over the next two years received additional START funds. Recently, MassVentures invested in Ginkgo Bioworks’ first round of equity financing via its Traditional Fund to capitalize on these SBIR and START funds.
“The most recent round of funding clearly demonstrates the success of the START program,” commented Jerry Bird, President of MassVentures. “The START funding in addition to the funds received from the MassVentures traditional fund, provided the company the chance to commercialize its technology and ready itself for significant growth and funding. We are pleased to see the progress the team at Ginkgo Bioworks has made in this exciting and critical new industry and look forward to its continued success in the burgeoning Massachusetts biotech industry.”
Viking Global, a firm managing more than $30 billion in capital, led the round along with previous investors including OS Fund, Y Combinator and Felicis Ventures. The new funds will be used to expand into new categories such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and probiotics, as well as hire additional employees and build out Bioworks 2, the next generation of Ginkgo’s robotic Foundry.
“MassVentures has been with us from the start, arming us with the capital, experience, mentoring and network to help our transition to a high-growth company,” said Reshma Shetty, Co-founder at Ginkgo Bioworks. “The START program is critical for SBIR-funded companies that need this type of support to move from a research-driven company to commercialization. We thank them for their support and expect a fruitful partnership moving forward.”