"Bioyen Bio" Closes Over 100 Million Yuan Pre-A Round, Led by Yunqi Capital | Yunqi Capital

➤➤➤ Recently, Bioyond, an innovative biomaterials R&D and application company, announced the completion of a Pre-A funding round exceeding RMB 100 million, led jointly by Yunqi Capital, Yongwo Fund, and Fuhua Capital. The proceeds will be used to strengthen R&D platform upgrades and expand production capacity.

Yunqi Capital's Perspective

Yunqi Capital has always focused on "technology innovation, industrial empowerment," with industrial digitization being one of its sustained areas of focus. The firm has made early-stage investments in outstanding companies including Baibu, JD.com, XiaoPangXiong, Dongjing Yiwang, Huili Bio, Penglai Data, Bailing Zhineng, Lingmao SCM, and Langjing Technology.

Feng Yao, Managing Director of Yunqi Capital, commented: "Synthetic biology represents the frontier of modern science and a green-economy innovation engine. The Bioyond team possesses world-leading technical capabilities and extensive, solid engineering experience, with exceptional technical competence and track record in materials-oriented synthetic biology. We believe that with its BT-IT technology-driven, high-efficiency R&D platform, Bioyond can continue to lead innovation and industrialization in the materials synthetic biology sector, with high scalability across healthcare, consumer products, and other industries. We have strong conviction in the team's capabilities and look forward to supporting the company on its journey to become a global leader in innovative biomaterials."

Bioyond was founded in March 2021 by Dr. Chao Zhong, who returned to China from MIT and joined the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with his university classmate Junfeng Cui. The company leverages synthetic biology and machine learning (BT-IT) as dual core drivers for developing bio-based materials and products. Its core team includes multiple PhDs with top-tier global academic achievements and seasoned experts with extensive experience in process engineering. The company primarily focuses on protein and polysaccharide raw material development pipelines, with related raw materials and products widely applied in pharmaceuticals, medical aesthetics, cosmetics, food, and other fields.

Pioneering Materials Synthetic Biology Research, Building a High-Efficiency Innovation Platform

As a frontier technology in modern biology, synthetic biology has become a strategic high ground contested by nations worldwide. In September 2022, the U.S. government formally announced the "National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative" to ensure American leadership in biotechnology. In May 2022, China's National Development and Reform Commission issued the 14th Five-Year Plan for Bioeconomy Development, explicitly calling for strengthening and expanding the bioeconomy, with emphasis on accelerating original and leading technological innovations and systematically promoting their application across multiple domains. In June of the same year, Shenzhen released Opinions on Developing and Expanding Strategic Emerging Industrial Clusters and Cultivating Future Industries, designating 20 strategic emerging industries and 8 future industries — with synthetic biology ranked first among the future industries.

Boston Consulting Group predicts that by the end of the 21st century, synthetic biology approaches will be widely applied in manufacturing accounting for over one-third of global output, creating $30 trillion in value. McKinsey & Company estimates that, in principle, 60% of global products could be produced using biological methods, with synthetic biology generating approximately $2–4 trillion in direct annual economic impact by 2030–2040, and at least 20% of global petrochemical products being replaceable by bio-based alternatives within the next decade.

Driven by bioeconomy policies and low-carbon economic development, the synthetic biology industry has arrived at a historic inflection point. Riding this wave, Dr. Chao Zhong returned to China from MIT in 2014. In 2020, he joined the Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology at SIAT (hereinafter referred to as "the Synthetic Biology Institute"), establishing the Center for Materials Synthetic Biology. After more than a decade of dedicated research, Dr. Zhong holds 10 domestic and international patents, was named Chief Scientist of the National Key R&D Program's Synthetic Biology Special Project by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and received the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. To accelerate technology commercialization, Zhong founded Bioyond in 2021, focusing on advancing the R&D and commercialization of core product pipelines including adhesive proteins, bacterial cellulose, and mucopolysaccharides.

Currently, the company's core members include PhD teams from top domestic and international research institutions alongside industrialization and commercialization teams from well-known enterprises, ensuring the organic integration of scientific capabilities in synthetic biotechnology with manufacturing capabilities for commercial execution. Its advisory team includes renowned scientists from MIT, UCSB, Cornell University, and clinical experts from Ruijin Hospital, Changzheng Hospital, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, and Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital.

Bioyond has established a BT-IT dual-core-driven, high-efficiency innovation platform built on interdisciplinary in-depth research and long-term accumulation, combining academic research with high-throughput synthetic biotechnology from major synthetic biology facilities, AI methodologies, and accumulated experience in optimization pathway design. The company has gradually developed industry-leading systematic capabilities for developing new molecules, new materials, and bioactive materials, significantly accelerating the R&D efficiency of innovative materials including biomedical materials, cosmetic raw materials, and functional materials. Focusing on high-value-added, high-growth markets, Bioyond has laid out core pipelines around proteins, polysaccharides, and other areas, enabling multi-scenario innovative applications and substitutions to provide customers with green, efficient solutions.

Since its founding, Bioyond has grown rapidly on the strength of its formidable research capabilities, earning recognition from multiple parties: In December 2021, it jointly established the "Materials Synthetic Biology Industrial Transformation Center" with SIAT; in March 2022, it received "Synthetic Biology Enterprise" certification from Guangming District; in July 2022, it was named to the "Greater Bay Area High-Growth Enterprises TOP50" list published by the Shenzhen Venture Capital Association; in August 2022, it moved into Hengtaiyu Building and commenced pilot workshop construction; and in November 2022, it participated in "Shenzhen Venture Capital Day" and was invited to sign on-site as a major project.

"Upstairs-Downstairs" Innovation Model, Accelerating Technology Commercialization

Under the incubation of the "Upstairs-Downstairs Innovation and Entrepreneurship Complex" model pioneered by the Shenzhen Guangming District Government and SIAT, Bioyond achieved close proximity to the Synthetic Biology Institute with its offices and research facilities literally "upstairs-downstairs" from each other. The company's R&D personnel and the institute's researchers can interact closely within the same building, enabling tight coupling between "zero-to-one" original innovation and "one-to-ten-to-one-hundred" engineering development and transformation, thereby achieving efficient conversion of research outcomes into industrial applications.

This incubation approach, which organically integrates basic research and industrial application in physical space, can break down the temporal barriers of industrial incubation from "zero to one to ten," effectively addressing the bottleneck of startup companies lacking facilities and technology platforms, thereby shortening the time cycle for converting original innovation into industrial applications and establishing a full-chain enterprise cultivation model spanning "research—transformation—industry."

With the support of the "upstairs-downstairs" model, Bioyond's adhesive protein pipeline has achieved rapid transformation progress. Related products have completed product validation for wound closure and care, combining adhesive and hemostatic functions, and will achieve functional substitution and domestic substitution of existing products.

With the vision of becoming a global leading biomaterials producer and application specialist, Bioyond's ambitions extend further. Against the backdrop of the "dual carbon" goals becoming global consensus, synthetic biology will not only serve as an important force in China's bioeconomic development but also become a critical underlying foundation for achieving the "dual carbon" targets. Going forward, the company will leverage its platform R&D advantages and industrialization capabilities to continuously expand business boundaries and multi-domain applications, leading industry development.

Dr. Chao Zhong, Founder of Bioyond, stated: "The founding team of Bioyond is deeply grateful for the recognition and support from new and existing shareholders. Bioyond will continue to be market-demand-oriented, adhering to a three-dimensional strategic layout of BT-IT technology-driven innovative raw materials, innovative products, and a high-efficiency R&D platform. We will deepen the application development of innovative raw materials across multiple domains, focus on medical product solutions with unique clinical value, and insist on driving platform development and commercial application through products, to become a global leading innovative biomaterials enterprise."