Synthetic biology is on the rise. And now, there’s a new startup aiming to build the future of low cost bioreactors.
What’s happening:
- Brooklyn, New York based bioreactor startup Caladan Bio has raised $5M USD in a seed round
- The round was led by Twelve Below
The big idea:
- Caladan Bio is developing next generation bioreactors that are capable of enhancing data capture and improving experimentation for synthetic biology companies
- Through purpose built software and hardware, Caladan Bio leverages sensors and visual data to help better understand the outcomes of different synthetic biology experiments
- Because most synthetic biology companies need to run hundreds or thousands of experiments, innovation in bioreactor technology is a critical component of reducing the overall costs of research and development
Why it matters:
- Synthetic biology in both biotechnology and food technology is accelerating rapidly, but inefficient and expensive bioreactors have largely held companies back from reaching price parity
Going deeper:
- Bioreactors are an integral part of bringing lab grown meat closer to price parity with traditional agriculture, which has become more relevant than ever amidst recent regulatory approvals for cell cultivated meat in the United States, Singapore and Israel
- Caladan Bio is also building artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to be able to build models around the data being captured through various experiments done with their bioreactors
