Ginkgo Bioworks has raised $796M in funding, supported by investors such as Illumina and Viking Global, as well as grants from government and foundations. Founded in 2008, Ginkgo engineers microbes for flavors, fragrances, sweeteners, and other ingredients, while also offering platform services to the biopharma, agriculture, and consumer industries. Funding and grants have been used to expand foundry automation, accelerate R&D, scale bio-manufacturing, and commercialize products for partners globally.
The company leverages high-throughput biology, automation, and software to program cells at an industrial scale while ensuring reproducibility and regulatory compliance.
Keep reading to learn how Ginkgo Bioworks became a leader in industrial and consumer synthetic biology.
What Is Ginkgo Bioworks and What Does It Do?
Founded in 2008 by Tom Knight, Reshma Shetty, Jason Kelly, Barry Canton, and Austin Che, Ginkgo Bioworks is a synthetic-biology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Ginkgo Bioworks employs over 1,200 people who support organism design, foundry automation, and commercialization for industrial and consumer applications. The company programs microbes for flavors, fragrances, agricultural inputs, and biopharma partnerships, turning biological design into scalable manufacturing. Its platform combines automation, high-throughput biology, and software to shorten design cycles, reduce costs, and enable commercial adoption of bio-manufactured products.
How Much Funding Has Ginkgo Bioworks Raised?
1. Grant (HHS)
- Amount Raised: $387K
- Date: August 03, 2023
- Lead Investors/Donors: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- Purpose: Research funding and pandemic response capabilities
2. Grant (NSF)
- Amount Raised: $650K
- Date: June 01, 2023
- Lead Investors/Donors: National Science Foundation
- Purpose: Early-stage research and platform validation
Total Funding Raised: $796M
Latest Funding Date: December 2023 (grant)
Current Valuation: Public company (market valuation varies)
Key Investors
1. Viking Global Investors
- Details: Large hedge fund and public markets investor with tech/healthcare exposure
- Focus Areas: Life sciences, biotech, public equities
- Notable Investments: Illumina, Moderna, other biotech companies
2. Illumina Ventures / Illumina (Strategic)
- Details: Sequencing and genomics leader; strategic investor in synthetic biology
- Focus Areas: Genomics, diagnostics, tools for life sciences
- Notable Investments: Grail, Helix, Paragon Biosciences
3. Felicis Ventures
- Details: Venture capital fund investing across biotech, consumer, and deep tech
- Focus Areas: Synthetic biology, consumer biotech, SaaS
- Notable Investments: Shopify, Fitbit, Calm, Carta, Ginkgo Bioworks (early)
4. Gates Foundation (Granting)
- Details: Philanthropic organization funding public health and R&D programs
- Focus Areas: Global health, agricultural R&D, platform enablement
- Notable Grants/Support: Various global health and vaccine programs
5. National Science Foundation (Granting)
- Details: U.S. government research agency providing R&D grants
- Focus Areas: Scientific research, early-stage development
- Notable Grants: Academic and industry research partnerships
Where Is Ginkgo Bioworks’ Headquarters?
Ginkgo Bioworks is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near leading biotech research institutions and talent hubs.
What’s Next for Ginkgo Bioworks?
Ginkgo Bioworks will continue scaling foundry automation, commercializing additional microbial-derived ingredients, deepening biopharma and industrial partnerships, and optimizing cost structures for large-scale bio-manufacturing.
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