Ribbon Biolabs, the DNA synthesis company, today announced the successful close of EUR 18 million in its Series A funding round from a consortium of European and US investors led by Hadean Ventures and with participation from Lansdowne Partners, Helicase Venture as well as several undisclosed investors. Existing investors IST cube and tecnet equity also joined in the round.
The funds will be used for the commercialization of Ribbon Biolabs’ DNA synthesis technology, which uses an innovative approach integrating combinatorial optimization algorithms to guide the automated enzymatic assembly of DNA. This includes the setup of production facilities with key technology partners and the preparation for expansion into the US market. The investment will also support Ribbon Biolabs’ ambitious recruitment plans as it continues to grow its team including key operational and scientific positions located at the company’s facilities in Vienna and in the IST Park, the technology park of the prestigious Institute of Science and Technology – IST Austria.
“We are more than excited and proud about this close as this fundraising enables us to expand our production capabilities and collaborate with key partners,” commented Harold P. de Vladar, CEO and founder of Ribbon Biolabs. “I value the financial commitment from both our existing investors and new life science specialists as we grow our company and empower a new era of synthetic DNA production.” Ribbon Biolabs was founded in 2018 to redefine the potential of synthetic DNA. The technology addresses the growing market need for synthetic DNA of sub-genomic size, an essential component for developments in biopharmaceutical research and key for the disruptive potential of synthetic biology. The company recently validated its capabilities by providing a synthetic DNA molecule of 10,000 base pairs (bp) in May 2021. In December 2021, the company extended this success by synthesizing a 20,000 bp molecule.
Walter Stockinger, Managing Partner at Hadean Ventures added: “Synthetic biology is about to disrupt the biopharmaceutical and other life science industries by overcoming previous limitations with new genetic technologies. We are excited to support Ribbon Biolabs in its mission to fully automate long DNA synthesis through its novel and proprietary approach and to become an important player in this new field of biology.”
About Ribbon Biolabs Ribbon Biolabs is a synthetic biology company advancing a new technology for the automated synthesis of long DNA molecules to enable innovation in the life sciences. With its proprietary technology in place, Ribbon Biolabs aims to be an inflection point in the continuing growth of the Bio-Economy by becoming the leading partner for long DNA molecules.
About the investors
Hadean Ventures: https://hadeanventures.com
Helicase Venture: https://www.helicaseventure.com
IST Cube: https://ist-cube.com
Lansdowne Partners Austria: https://www.lansdownepartners.com/austria
tecnet equity: https://www.tecnet.at/en/
Contact: Gabriele Schaller PR & Communications
PR@ribbonbiolabs.com