Lygos Raises $15.5M in Series B

Lygos, Inc. (Lygos), a leading biotechnology company focused on creating new biology based products, today announced the closing of a $15.5 million Series B financing led by IA Ventures and First Round Capital. Y Combinator Continuity Fund and OS Fund also participated in the financing. The Company has now raised a total of $40 million in equity financing, including non-equity government funding from the US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture, and National Science Foundation.

"This financing reflects Lygos' proven ability to create and deliver breakthrough bio-products. Our Bio-Malonic™ Acid Product Family, which has already been delivered to several of the world's leading companies, is only our first example of this," said Eric Steen, co-founder and CEO of Lygos. "Our platform combines advanced biotechnology and breakthrough computer science to systematically develop new 'bio'-chemicals. As our efforts enable other companies developing new performance materials to access our new starting materials, the value of our product pipeline becomes ever more apparent."

Lygos' proprietary platform is based on a high-throughput combination of computational modeling, unique microbe engineering and screening, combined with deep learning to identify and develop new bio-routes to chemicals. Lygos uses modern biotechnology to deliver the benefits of petroleum-based and other industrial chemical technology at competitive prices. Lygos also develops new bio-routes to chemical functionalities uniquely available through biotechnology to expand the performance window in diverse materials systems. Lygos' customers seek sustainable cost-efficient solutions enabled by biotechnology for applications where industrial chemistry uses expensive, environmentally degrading options or has none to offer.

"Lygos has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to rapidly and predictably develop the 'source code' for new and valuable chemical-producing microbes. This financing reflects our commitment to unlocking the full-scale of this proven platform – where chemicals are developed much like software," said Brad Gillespie of IA Ventures. "The resultant products will impact many different industries from existing high volume consumer goods markets to companies making new products requiring advanced polymer technologies. We are looking forward to exciting developments to come this year, including advances in the Bio-Malonic and Bio-Lactic™ Acid, Bio-Aspartic Acid™, Bio-Glycolic Acid™ product programs along with many more to follow," he concluded.

About Lygos
Lygos employs a full-stack engineering biological engineering platform, focused initially on organic acid specialty chemicals. Lygos' sustainable, bio-based chemicals replace expensive, environmentally degrading alternatives from traditional industrial suppliers so customers can create better, safer products.