Ferment
2611 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, North Carolina, 27707, United States
Overview
Ferment is a company creation studio for the next wave of synthetic biology product companies. Ferment brings together founders, corporate strategic partners, and investors to build market defining companies. Our companies take advantage of the economies of scale that the “tools revolution” in biotech has created over the last two decades, and we partner closely with Ginkgo Bioworks, the leading platform for cell programming. As a result, company creation at Ferment looks different: we attract founders with commercial track records in end markets, iterate and test ideas for leveraging biology in their domain, and surround them with resources in order to launch and grow powerful, scalable synthetic biology startups that are product focused. We have successfully created and launched six companies to date across an array of end markets such as food ingredients, waste remediation, beauty & personal care, consumer nutrition, and animal health. New ideas don’t have to wait. Incredible capabilities are now available to anyone who wants to build with biology. Projects that used to require massive technical resources, infrastructure, and timelines can now launch quickly, with Ferment.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 2
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 4
Sector focus
- Biotechnology
- Health Care
- Life Science
- Venture Capital
Investment portfolio
- Alchemyca
Led · Equity · Nov 2024
Alchemyca develops a platform that integrates enzymes, sensors and AI to convert organic waste into renewable natural gas. Its solution combines advanced computational tools, sensors and biological catalysts for measurement and stimulation to help plant operators improve system efficiency. The company says improved efficiency will enable organic waste to become a low-cost feedstock for producing a range of chemicals and fuels beyond renewable natural gas. Alchemyca has established technology partnerships with Ginkgo Bioworks and Novonesis (formerly Novozymes). Led by CEO Patrick Vagner, the company intends to use recent funding to expand operations and advance development efforts. The company is based in San Diego, CA.
- Zenso
Led · Equity · Oct 2023
Zenso is a technology development company founded by a small team of craft brewers and biotechnologists in Massachusetts. The company applies innovative biotechnology to the beverage industry, aiming to transform the future of alcoholic beverages. Its core product focus is upcycling brewery and distillery spent grains into high-value products and ingredients. Zenso positions this work as a solution-at-scale to address the largest waste stream in the industry. The company completed a friends and family funding round, raising $350,000 with key investors including Ferment Co. Zenso is based in East Weymouth, MA.