Biomatter, a company that develops custom enzymes, has raised $18 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The round was led by Astanor, with participation from existing investors UVC Partners, Inventure and Metaplanet.
Biomatter develops technology that helps create enzymes for specific chemical processes and industrial needs. Instead of changing enzymes that already exist in nature, the company designs new ones based on the requirements of a particular process.
Enzymes are widely used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agriculture and industrial biotechnology. However, developing new enzymes using traditional methods can take months or even years, especially when natural enzymes do not work well for a specific purpose.
To make this process faster, Biomatter combines computer-based technology with laboratory testing to design enzymes that meet customer requirements. The company also uses its own database of tested enzymes, which continues to grow with every new project. According to Biomatter, its technology can reduce enzyme development time from months or years to just a few weeks.
The company has already developed custom enzymes for major businesses across Europe, the United States and Japan. Its customers include AstraZeneca, BASF, Sanofi and Tereos. Biomatter’s technology is also being used in commercial products. In collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific, the company developed an enzyme that offers better stability for molecular biology and mRNA research.
Biomatter has also developed a special enzyme called methylase for mRNA vaccine manufacturing. Unlike naturally occurring methylases, this enzyme can work without S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), an expensive ingredient normally needed for the process. Its technology also enables a chemical reaction that does not naturally occur in nature.
“Our goal is to make a custom enzyme as easy to order as a catalog product, including for reactions that don’t have one today, “said Laurynas Karpus, CEO and co-founder of Biomatter.
With the new funding, Biomatter plans to build a 2,000-square-metre facility in Vilnius for enzyme design and testing. The facility is expected to open in 2027 and will allow the company to handle more research, development and testing work in-house. This will help reduce enzyme development time from weeks to just a few days.
The company also plans to expand its sales team and grow its presence in the United States. It will continue improving its technology platform and adding more data to its enzyme database.
