Solazyme is a San Francisco, CA–based developer and supplier of algal oil and bioproducts targeting fuels and chemicals, nutrition, and skin and personal care markets. The company filed an S-1 registration to go public through a $100M initial public offering of its common stock. It intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “SZYM.” Morgan Stanley and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are acting as lead underwriters for the offering. In the last eighteen months Solazyme received a $21M grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and closed a Series D financing with a range of strategic and venture investors. The article does not disclose revenue or other operating metrics. Solazyme is a South San Francisco-based renewable oil company that uses algal biotechnology and microbial fermentation to produce renewable oils. Its oils are intended for use in scalable fuels, chemicals, nutritional food ingredients and health and wellness products. The company raised $52m in a Series D financing, announced alongside its ongoing development plans. Major existing backers and strategic partners participated in the round. Solazyme also received a $21.8m DOE grant to build its first integrated biorefinery at Cherokee Pharmaceuticals’ commercial biomanufacturing facility in Riverside, PA. The announced financing and grant relate directly to the company’s plans to advance biorefinery construction and commercial-scale production. Solazyme is a South San Francisco, CA-based renewable oil and bioproducts company using algal biotechnology. It develops technology that enables algae to produce oils and biomaterials tailored for biofuel production and as replacements for fossil petroleum and plant oils in products including clean fuels, chemicals, cosmetics and foods. The company received a $21.8M federal grant from the US Department of Energy that will complement significant private investment. Solazyme will use the funds to build its first integrated biorefinery on the site of Cherokee Pharmaceuticals' existing commercial biomanufacturing facility in Riverside, PA. The project is aimed at enhancing national infrastructure investment in biofuels and creating or preserving green jobs. Investors include Braemar Energy Ventures, Harris & Harris Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Roda Group and VantagePoint Venture Partners. Solazyme is a Menlo Park company developing ways to use algae to produce biofuels and cosmetic treatments. Its work centers on converting algal biology into commercial fuels and cosmetic ingredients. The company raised $8 million in a second round of funding led by the Roda Group. It also secured more than $2 million in venture debt, bringing the recent financing total to more than $10 million. The funding news was reported by VentureWire and was described as expected. The report named the Roda Group as the lead investor but did not list other participating equity investors.

Total raised

$105M

Funding rounds

5

Latest round

Grant

Latest activity

Mar 2011