Bota Biosciences

Bota Biosciences (恩和生物, "Bota Bio") is an industrial synthetic biology company founded in 2019, focused on producing sustainable bio-based products as an alternative to traditional petrochemical manufacturing. Its core asset is Bota Freeway, a highly integrated automation platform combining digital tools with lab automation to run the design-build-test-learn cycle of synthetic biology, reportedly cutting iteration time by 50%. Co-founder and CEO Cheryl Cui (崔好) holds a Harvard-MIT PhD in medical engineering and biophysics; per a 5Y Capital piece, she described Bota Bio in early 2024 as "a globally operating synthetic biology industrial company" of about 200 employees that formally began industrialization in 2023.

The company's funding trajectory was fast: a Series B of over $100 million in July 2021 led by Sequoia China, with Source Code Capital (which had led the A1 round), Matrix Partners, Sherpa, 5Y Capital, Meituan and CMB International following — bringing total funding past $145 million, then an Asian record for speed and scale in synthetic biology. On the commercial side, per Source Code Capital coverage, it has partnered with Puratos on natural enzyme development, launched a wholly-owned personal-care subsidiary (青然新护/yucca elements) whose bio-identical protein ingredients have entered products of leading domestic skincare brands, and in May 2025 became the first synthetic biology company to sign a strategic-level partnership with Proya, focused on AI-driven custom active ingredients for cosmetics and bio-medical-aesthetic materials.