Genomatica, a US-based developer of sustainable chemicals, has more than doubled the $40m it has previously raised with its latest round from a consortium including two corporate venturing groups.
Bright Capital, the corporate venturing unit of Russia-based industrial conglomerate Ru-Com Group, and US-listed transport company Waste Management are the two corporations in Genomatica’s $45m round.
They were joined by venture capital firms VantagePoint Venture Partners, which led the round, Alloy Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mohr Davidow Ventures and TPG Biotech (the providers of Genomatica’s previous $40m).
The money will be used to complete demonstration-scale production and early commercialization plans for Genomatica’s first commercial product, Bio-BDO, a version of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) made from renewable feedstocks rather than oil or natural gas and an intermediate chemical used to make spandex, automotive plastics and running shoes.
Mikhail Abyzov, chairman of Ru-Com, said: "Genomatica’s technology, including the breadth of chemicals it can produce and feedstocks it can use, has value in both established and emerging economies, for chemical companies, feedstock suppliers and downstream materials producers."
Last month, Waste Management and Genomatica announced a strategic joint development agreement to research and advance Genomatica’s technology and manufacturing processes to enable production of intermediate and basic chemicals from gas made from municipal solid waste.
Tim Cesarek, managing director of Organic Growth at Waste Management, said: "Waste Management wants to maximize the value of the materials it manages. Genomatica’s technology complements Waste Management’s advancement of thermo-chemical conversion and fermentation technology platforms."