bitBiome announced it has closed an oversubscribed seed extension round, reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s position within the engineering biology and biomanufacturing sectors. The company said the funding brings its combined equity and non-dilutive funding, including grants, to more than $45 million.
Based in Tokyo and Palo Alto, California, bitBiome focuses on the discovery, design, and engineering of enzymes, proteins, strains, and bio-based ingredients. The company plans to use the funding to accelerate the development of microbial enzymes and pathways by leveraging its proprietary microbial database, predictive modeling technologies, and high-throughput engineering platforms.
bitBiome said the investment aligns with growing interest in engineered biology and the broader bioeconomy, particularly as biology becomes increasingly data-driven. The company’s integrated platform combines microbial biodiversity data, artificial intelligence, and enzyme engineering capabilities to support applications across industrial biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology, life sciences, and advanced biomanufacturing.
The company’s technology stack includes proprietary platforms such as bit-MAP, bit-GEM, and bit-EVO. bit-MAP is the company’s single-cell microbial genome analysis technology, while bit-GEM is a microbial database containing more than 3 billion sequences sourced primarily from environmental samples. bitBiome said many of these sequences are not available in public databases. The company uses this data foundation alongside machine learning and AI tools to identify and engineer enzymes, pathways, and microbial strains for commercial applications.
Investors participating in the round highlighted bitBiome’s differentiated dataset, modeling capabilities, and scalable commercialization strategy as key factors behind their support. The company also emphasized that the funding will help expand its global footprint and strengthen partnerships across multiple sectors tied to the bioeconomy.
KEY QUOTES:
“This investment reflects our conviction that bitBiome’s unique microbial database-and-model stack is a differentiator in the enzyme and strain engineering space. With this added strategic support, bringing our total equity and non-dilutive funding including grant to over 45 million USD, we will deepen our modelling-first approach to provide much higher probabilities of success, continue to expand our global presence, and drive partnerships across industrial biotech, pharma and life science, synthetic biology and advanced biomanufacturing.”
Yuji Suzuki, CEO, bitBiome
“We are thrilled to partner with bitBiome. The company has amassed a uniquely diverse microbial database, which combined with its advanced modeling capabilities, gives them an edge in enzyme discovery, engineering, and biomanufacturing. We believe this capability is strategically important, not only for commercial enzyme innovation, but also for advancing the frontier of engineered biology and biosecurity. We’re excited to see bitBiome scale globally.”
Olivia Jones, Managing Director, IQT
“IT-Farm is proud to make our follow-on investment in bitBiome, a leading applied AI company in data-driven bioscience, leveraging the world’s largest proprietary microbial genome database to drive novel enzyme discovery for biosynthesis applications. We are particularly excited by the company’s pioneering approach to scalable genome AI commercialization, built upon its unprecedented mass of data and unique strengths in microfluidics & biosynthesis technologies. As a Tokyo-based cross-border deeptech VC since 1999, we look forward to further supporting the company’s global fundraising and business development by leveraging our international network and decades of experience.”
Shinya Kasuga, General Partner, IT-Farm
“We are excited to partner with bitBiome as it builds a foundational data and discovery platform for the next generation of biomanufacturing. By combining proprietary single-cell microbial genome sequencing, one of the world’s largest microbial gene databases, and AI-enabled enzyme discovery and engineering, bitBiome is unlocking microbial biodiversity that traditional approaches cannot reach and turning it into actionable commercial solutions. The company has paired a differentiated technology moat with real customer traction, strong capital efficiency, and a clear path toward products, data licensing, and scalable biomanufacturing applications. We are proud to support the bitBiome team as they expand globally and help establish microbial biodiversity as a new infrastructure layer for the bioeconomy.”
Andrew Hyung, Valuence Ventures
“We at Darwin highly value the unique and globally rare technological foundation bitBiome has built in the field of synthetic biology. A major competitive advantage is the company’s ability, through its proprietary technology platforms, ‘bit-MAP,’ ‘bit-GEM,’ and ‘bit-EVO,’ to conduct end-to-end exploration, analysis, and implementation, from the discovery of useful genes to the development of enzymes and microbial production strains, with high precision and speed, utilizing the vast, untapped resources of microorganisms. We highly appreciate the progress of their multiple product development pipelines using synthetic biology, while anticipating future customer demand. We are pleased to be able to continuously support the company’s growth through this investment.”
Kazuaki Konno, Partner, Darwin Ventures
