Zymergen raises $130m in Series B funding

Zymergen, a San Francisco based startup that genetically engineers microbes –  using advanced computing to help better automate the process at the same time – has raised $130m in Series B funding.

The company confirmed its funding success late on Monday, revealing that investment was led by SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications giant.

As well as raising $130m in this Series B round, the company also announced the arrival of two high profile directors. These are Steven Chu, the former energy secretary of the United States, and Deep Nishar, a senior executive at SoftBank.

Other investors included returning investors Data Collective, True Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Innovation Endeavors, Obvious Ventures and Two Sigma Ventures.

Among new investors, Zymergen received support from Iconiq Capital, Prelude Ventures and Tao Capital Partners.

Zymergen uses robotics and machine learning (ML) to better manipulate microbes that are used in things such as industrial fermentation. This, Zymergen says, helps their customers’ operations to be more efficient.

Nishar said, “We are investing in Zymergen because they are a pre-eminent bioengineering company and the market leader.”

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