Bluepha Closes RMB 40 Million Series A Round | FreeS Fund Deal Brief
Leading Global Engineered Microbe Development
Investor Commentary
Li Feng, Founding Partner, FreeS Fund
Email: feng@freesvc.com
Since the angel round, FreeS Fund has followed Bluepha through every subsequent funding round. Our conviction stems from our bullish outlook on synthetic biology as a whole, and on the synthesis of new molecules and materials powered by computation plus biology — a combination poised to unlock massive commercial opportunity in China during this structural transition period.
Bluepha's founding team is young, driven, and technically formidable. As the team has grown, we've seen remarkable development in the founders themselves. Over three years of entrepreneurship, Bluepha has continuously strengthened its platform technology. Its PHA production partnership with Sinochem International marks a critical step toward real-world application. Going forward, the company will collaborate with more industry leaders to bring additional applications and products to market, with a commercially viable path now coming into view.
Recently, synthetic biology company Bluepha completed a RMB 40 million Series A funding round. Investors include ZGC Development Qihang Fund, ZGC Development Frontier Fund, and Qianhai Equity Investment FOF. Existing shareholder FreeS Fund continued to participate in the round, with Probe Capital serving as exclusive financial advisor. The proceeds will primarily fund the industrialization of existing product pipelines, the advancement of co-development pipelines with multiple Fortune 500 clients, and further development of the company's gene element technology platform.
Almost simultaneously, on October 28, 2019, Bluepha signed a strategic partnership with state-owned chemical giant Sinochem International (600500.SH) at Tsinghua University. The two parties will collaborate to advance the industrialization of Bluepha's existing product pipeline: the bio-based biodegradable material PHA.
Founded in 2016, Bluepha has now completed multiple funding rounds totaling tens of millions of RMB, and has developed a gene element technology platform unique in the global industry. This platform addresses molecular and material innovation needs across healthcare, environmental protection, and consumer applications, serving a global market worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Bluepha is a startup born out of the campuses of Tsinghua University and Peking University. Its two co-founders, Dr. Li Teng and Dr. Zhang Haoqian, are among the first generation of young Chinese scholars in synthetic biology research, and have won multiple awards at iGEM — the highest-level international competition in the field. Bluepha's advisory team comprises world-leading experts in industrial microbiology R&D and business development, including Tsinghua University professor Chen Guoqiang, who has over 20 years of technical expertise in synthetic biomaterials.
Dr. Zhang Haoqian, Bluepha's co-founder and CEO, stated: "Bluepha's ability to consistently exceed expectations would not be possible without the unwavering support of hard-tech investors like FreeS Fund since the company's founding. The new investors in this round — ZGC Development Group and Qianhai Equity Investment FOF — not only share our vision but also align closely with our values and bring complementary industrial resources. This multidimensional synergy will empower Bluepha to maintain our outstanding R&D capabilities while making sound commercial decisions and seizing optimal market timing."
Dr. Li Teng, Bluepha's co-founder and president, said: "We're delighted to have the recognition and support of both new and existing investors. Over the past three years, Bluepha has navigated a challenging yet exhilarating entrepreneurial journey. This funding will continue to support the development of our synthetic biology technology platform and data platform, the advancement of our product pipeline, and industrialization efforts. Today, we see with increasing clarity the immense potential unlocked by combining the scalability of synthetic biology with China's rich and distinctive application scenarios — a cause worth dedicating our careers to in this era."
