Female Owned Biotechnology Startup Raises Money for Plant-based Biomolecules

Today, Tiamat Sciences, a Biotechnology startup, announced a $3 million seed funding round headed by True Ventures of Silicon Valley, with participation from Social Impact Capital and Cantos. Tiamat Sciences uses a patented plant molecular farming technology to produce animal-free proteins. The company provides essential reagents for Biotechnology companies at a tenth of the cost by substituting expensive bioreactors with plants. Animal-free growth factors have been a long-awaited component of cellular agriculture.

These reimagined biomolecules are being used to power the next wave of Biotechnology discoveries in domains like cellular agriculture and cultured meat, regenerative medicine, and the development of innovative vaccines. Unfortunately, reagents account for more than 80% of the cost of manufacturing in these new domains. However, Tiamat’s fermentation technology enables Tiamat to deliver essential proteins at a 10X lower price than the present market.

Plants are an excellent system to work with because they overgrow, use little water and energy, and are compostable. In addition, the technique allows for production flexibility, allowing for a diverse product line. The Tiamat team used Biotechnology, vertical farming, and computing design to redesign recombinant proteins to create its proprietary production process.

While the company has already achieved a 10X cost reduction for its existing products through lab-scale techniques, it plans to reach a 1,000X cost reduction for a wide range of products by 2025 through large-scale production. Team Tiamat is developing worldwide relationships and preparing its expansion to include more local production facilities with its two operating sites in Belgium and the United States. In addition, the business is already on its path to being carbon-neutral.