Biobased Chemicals Gaining Ground with Venture Capital Investments

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In Massachusetts, Lux Research published a report highlighting where venture capitalists are focusing their investing in biobased industries. They found that since 2010, venture capitalists have invested $5.8 billion with a focus on drop-in replacements for chemicals in earlier years and a focus on synthetic biology and conversion technologies in more recent years. Funding focused on projects involved in fermentation and catalysis as well as DNA synthesis, genomic engineering, and genetic tools.

They highlight five top investments in recent years totaling $430 million – Zymergen, Gingko Bioworks, Twist Bioscience, Elevance Renewable Science and Bolt Threads. They predict larger gains in biobased investments for 2017. The report also notes that since oil prices have been pretty low in recent years, investors have started focusing on better performance and not just more environmentally friendly alternatives to oil based materials and chemicals.