5Y News | Synthetic Biology Company Bota Bio Raises Over $100 Million to Accelerate Efficient Design and Scaled Production of Bio-based Products
5Y Capital continues to pay close attention to emerging technologies at the intersection of information science and life sciences.
On July 29, 2021, industrial synthetic biology company Bota Biosciences ("Bota Bio") announced the completion of a Series B funding round exceeding $100 million. The round was led by HSG, with participation from CMB International Capital and returning investors Matrix Partners China, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, Source Code Capital, 5Y Capital, and Meituan. With this round, Bota Bio's total funding surpassed $145 million, setting records in Asia's synthetic biology sector for both fundraising speed and scale.
Xutian Jing, Managing Director at 5Y Capital, commented: "Congratulations to Bota on completing this new financing round. While synthetic biology has decades of research history, we are thrilled to see how recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and the emergence of automated high-throughput experimentation have created the possibility of dramatic leaps in R&D efficiency, with the potential to revolutionize massive industries including chemicals, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. 5Y Capital continues to pay close attention to emerging technologies at the intersection of information science and life sciences."
Founded in 2019, Bota Bio is dedicated to opening new technological pathways for traditional chemical manufacturing, producing sustainable bio-based products through efficient and environmentally friendly methods. Bota Bio's founding team brings deep expertise in bio-based product development, large-scale production, and commercialization. The company has initially built a highly integrated automated technology platform, Bota Freeway, capable of rapidly advancing multiple product pipelines in parallel. Bota Freeway combines advanced digital tools with laboratory automation, using computation as its core foundation to enable the construction and optimization of enzymes, microbial strains, and production processes. The platform also efficiently completes the synthetic biology design-build-test-learn cycle, reducing iteration time by 50%, and further extends into downstream process development and engineering of non-traditional microbial strains.
The proceeds from this round will be used to expand the company's global operations, further develop Bota Freeway and its precision fermentation platform, and build out pilot-scale facilities to advance the company's product pipeline in consumer goods, food, nutrition, and pharmaceuticals.
Today, achieving carbon neutrality and addressing environmental pollution are increasingly urgent, yet most traditional manufacturing carries steep environmental costs. "We need innovative solutions that deliver high-performance, sustainable products. We hope to empower traditional industries through Bota Bio's bio-manufacturing platform, using the power of synthetic biology to accelerate the development, design, and scaled production of high-performance products in a sustainable manner," said Dr. Cheryl Cui, co-founder and CEO of Bota Bio. "We are recruiting synthetic biology talent globally to accelerate the development of bio-based alternatives to traditional petroleum-derived products, serving a diverse global customer base. We are delighted to have earned the recognition and support of world-class investment institutions for Bota Bio, which encourages our team to push beyond the boundaries of knowledge and tackle greater challenges through biological technology."
5Y Capital (formerly Morningside Venture Capital) currently manages approximately $5 billion across USD and RMB dual-currency funds. We believe the world would be a better place if the you that others see as crazy starts to be believed.
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