Synthetic biology company Bota Bio (Enhe Biotechnology) announced the completion of a Series B funding round exceeding $100 million, with existing shareholder Source Code Capital continuing to increase its stake.

源码资本·July 29, 2021·0·4

Accelerating the design and production of high-performance, sustainable products through synthetic biology.

On July 29, 2021, industrial synthetic biotechnology company Enhe Biotechnology (Bota Biosciences, referred to as "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 and previous investors including Source Code Capital, Matrix Partners China, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, 5Y Capital, and Meituan. To date, Bota Bio has raised over $145 million in total funding, setting records in Asia's synthetic biology sector for both fundraising speed and scale. Source Code Capital led the company's Series A1 round.

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. The company's founding team brings deep expertise in bio-based product R&D, large-scale production, and commercialization. Bota Bio has initially established 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 efficiently completes the synthetic biology design-build-test-learn cycle, shortening iteration cycles 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 a high-precision fermentation platform, and build a pilot-scale production base to accelerate the expansion of product pipelines in consumer goods, food, nutrition, and pharmaceuticals.

"Achieving carbon neutrality and addressing environmental pollution are urgent priorities, yet most traditional manufacturing carries steep environmental costs," said Dr. Cheryl Cui, co-founder and CEO of Bota Bio. "We need innovative solutions that deliver high-performance, sustainable products. Through Bota Bio's bio-manufacturing platform, we aim to empower traditional industries, using the power of synthetic biology to accelerate the development, design, and large-scale production of high-performance products in a sustainable manner. We are recruiting synthetic biology talent globally to accelerate the development of bio-based alternatives to traditional petroleum-based products, serving a diverse global customer base. We are thrilled to earn the recognition and support of world-class investment institutions for Bota Bio, which encourages our team to push beyond knowledge boundaries and tackle more challenges through biological technology."

"Bota Bio is accelerating the design and large-scale production of bio-based products, replacing fossil fuel-based, energy-intensive, and unsustainable products and production processes with sustainable raw material-based biosynthesis," said Neil Shen, founding and managing partner of HSG. "The Bota Bio team has developed an industry-leading integrated technology platform that provides partners with innovative and efficient product solutions. We are pleased to see the achievements of the Bota Bio team and hope to further support the company in enhancing its product development capabilities, continuously creating value for users, and contributing to sustainable development globally."

Yungang Huang, partner at Source Code Capital, stated: "Biotechnology is a sector that Source Code continues to be bullish on. High-throughput experimental platforms, computational platforms, and continuously evolving life science tools are colliding intensely in the field of synthetic biology, making the directed and efficient engineering of microorganisms increasingly industrialized. We are very fortunate to have established a partnership with the Bota team in this process. They possess deep professional backgrounds and extensive industry experience, while also demonstrating strong vision and execution in building platform software and hardware capabilities. We believe Bota can inject new technological momentum into the synthetic biology industry chain in China and globally, bringing more and better products to multiple downstream industries."