Zymergen

Based in California, Zymergen is a biotech startup operating as a subsidiary of Ginkgo Bioworks, offering a patented microbial genomic engineering platform that allows the company to create materials with the science of synthetic biology. Zymergen claims that its platform could enable it to launch new products in half the time and at one-tenth the cost compared to traditional chemicals and materials companies. As of July 2021, Zymergen had launched only one product, although it had 11 products in its pipeline with applications across the electronics, consumer care, and agriculture industries. In October 2023, the company announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the Delaware bankruptcy court.

Zymergen’s only unveiled product, Hyaline, is a sustainable bio-manufactured optical film aimed at applications in the electronics industry, launched in December 2020. The company expects to take between 6-18 months from launch for prospective customers to evaluate Hyaline's suitability for specific use cases and start placing orders. The company hopes to launch three new products by 2023, mainly used in the consumer care and agriculture industries. The company also hopes to release other new bio-based products, which can be used by the healthcare and packaging sectors in the future. As of April 2021, the company has issued 500 patent and provisional patent applications, of which around 322 are pending.

In April 2021, the company was listed on the Nasdaq exchange, raising around USD 459.8 million in an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO proceeds were expected to be used for working capital and to fund the development and commercialization of products in its pipeline. Prior to going public, Zymergen had raised USD 874.1 million in venture capital funding since 2013 from investors, including SoftBank Vision Fund, Baillie Gifford, and DCVC.

As of March 2021, the business had incurred an accumulated net loss of USD 858.3 million and has yet to generate revenue from the sales of its product. In August 2021, the company announced that though it initially expected to generate revenue during H2 2021, due to delays and technical issues in installing Hyaline with customers, it expects to start generating revenue in 2022. Upon this news release, Zymergen’s share prices took a 76% hit during the day.