Ginkgo Bioworks
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Jason Kelly (lead founder) and team of five scientists from MIT |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Jason Kelly (lead founder) |
| Products | Genetically engineered bacteria for industrial use, synthetic biology platforms |
| Website | www |
Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. is a biotechnology firm from the United States, established in 2008 by a team of five scientists from MIT, with Jason Kelly as the lead founder. The company specializes in genetic engineering to create bacteria tailored for industrial use by other biotech enterprises, helping them lower upfront design expenses in the field of synthetic biology. Often referred to as the "Organism Company," it was one of the largest privately owned biotech firms globally, with a valuation of $4.2 billion in 2019. In that year, Ginkgo secured $290 million in funding during September and an additional $350 million in October. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC merger on September 17, 2021.
History
Ginkgo made history in 2014 by becoming the first biotech company admitted into the Y Combinator startup accelerator program.
On December 16, 2020, Ginkgo Bioworks acquired key assets from Novogy's Microbial Engineering Platform. That same year, it invested $25 million to purchase land from Marcus Partners for constructing a new 219,000-square-foot laboratory at Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, which involved demolishing existing buildings. By 2021, Ginkgo had established a presence occupying 200,000 square feet within the Innovation and Design Building (IDB) at the Marine Park and continued operating facilities in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a hub for numerous MIT spinouts.
The company's expansion through 2021 was driven by robust venture capital funding and its entry into the COVID-19 testing sector, including a notable $45 million investment from Viking Global Investors in 2015.
On May 11, 2021, Ginkgo revealed its intention to go public through a SPAC merger with Soaring Eagle, valuing the company at $17.5 billion. Its ticker symbol on the NYSE was designated as "DNA," a symbol previously held by Genentech. Trading commenced on September 17, 2021. In March 2022, investment firm Baillie Gifford became Ginkgo’s largest shareholder by acquiring 167.75 million shares, representing a 15% ownership stake.
On March 14, 2022, Ginkgo entered into a Definitive Agreement to purchase FGen AG, a bioengineering firm known for its ultra-high-throughput screening technology. Subsequently, in June 2022, it acquired assets from Bitome, a company specializing in real-time monitoring of metabolites to improve its cell engineering capabilities.
On July 25, 2022, Ginkgo agreed to an all-stock acquisition of Zymergen valued at $300 million. Shortly thereafter, on July 27, it announced plans to acquire Bayer's Biologics R&D facility located in West Sacramento and initiated a multi-year platform collaboration with Bayer that incorporated assets from Joyn Bio—a joint venture between Leaps by Bayer and Ginkgo.
In October 2022, Ginkgo expanded its cell and gene therapy expertise by acquiring France-based Altar and California-based Circularis.
Also during October 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Ginkgo partnered with Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity to develop ENDAR (Engineered Nucleotide Detection and Ranking), a software designed to identify genetically engineered organisms. This innovation is intended to offer early detection capabilities against bioweapons and other synthetic biology threats.
Fraud Allegations
On October 6, 2021, a market research organization accused Ginkgo of artificially boosting its revenue through intricate related-party dealings. This accusation prompted an investigation by the United States Department of Justice. Subsequently, in November 2021, shareholders filed a lawsuit against Ginkgo, claiming the company had provided misleading information about its revenue streams during its merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. By the end of 2021, Ginkgo had yet to produce or sell any major products utilizing its engineered organisms.
In March 2023, an inquiry was launched by the former Attorney General of Louisiana targeting Ginkgo’s executives and board members.
See also
Further reading
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