Andreessen Horowitz backs Synonym’s bio-manufacturing services • TechCrunch

Armed with $6.3 million in new pre-seed capital, Synonym Biotechnologies has begun the event section for its first productized bio-manufacturing services for non-pharmaceutical purposes.

Edward Shenderovich and Joshua Lachter began the corporate in January 2022 to develop, finance and construct commercial-scale bio-manufacturing services to supply artificial biology producers of all measurement with versatile manufacturing capability whereas additionally giving infrastructure traders entry to a brand new, carbon-negative bio-manufacturing asset class they’re calling “fermentation farms.”

Andreessen Horowitz, Large Ventures, Blue Horizon, Thia Ventures and different enterprise funds energetic in decarbonization have been a part of the funding.

Shenderovich and Lachter closed on the funding this month and informed TechCrunch through electronic mail that the pre-seed spherical “has allowed us to construct an distinctive and well-rounded launch staff and set up our product out there.”

“We plan to make use of the capital to catalyze our facility growth efforts,” CEO Shenderovich stated. “This implies specializing in hiring throughout our design, engineering and finance groups to put the foundations for our first facility break-ground and speed up our outreach for strategic partnerships throughout the worth chain.”

Synonym is growing each the standardized designs and underwriting requirements for financing its fermentation farms in order that corporations will be capable of simply make the most of them to provide higher high quality bioproducts at decrease prices than present choices. On the investor aspect, the corporate stated it’s constructing an underwriting mannequin to supply ESG funding alternatives.

The corporate can be channeling the U.S. authorities’s current govt order on bio-manufacturing that wishes to speed up innovation on this space to satisfy objectives round local weather and power objectives, meals safety and sustainability and provide chains.

Nevertheless, Shenderovich and Lachter say this may solely be potential if bioproducts, for instance, dairy protein, polymers and resins, attain value parity to legacy merchandise.

And proper now, the infrastructure to correctly scale “doesn’t exist at this time” in a approach that allows corporations to make the amount on the type of high quality that can meet future demand. They both should construct their very own facility — which prices lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} — or depend on contract manufacturing organizations to provide merchandise on their behalf.

“Prices would be the driving issue to adoption and manufacturing prices have prevented them from already coming into provide chains,” Shenderovich stated. “The technique of manufacturing for these merchandise will due to this fact be essential, and Synonym’s core perception is that relating to industrial infrastructure, productization precedes financialization which precedes mass adoption.”

The worldwide contract bio-manufacturing group market, which venture-backed startups like Planetary and Tradition Biosciences are doing, was estimated to be $22.2 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to greater than double by 2030.

Lachter stated what Planetary is doing is “certainly attempting to shut the capability hole in fermentation,” however the place Synonym varies is its strategy to “focusing extra on productization and financialization of services fairly than a extra conventional CMO mannequin.”

The corporate remains to be very a lot within the early phases, with the co-founders saying their most essential milestone was the launch of the event of its first facility that features web site choice and preliminary design. They count on to interrupt floor on the power within the third quarter of 2023.

This shall be adopted up in coming months by additional bulletins on development, structure and different growth companions.