BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Arcaea (Ar-kay-uh), a company launched on the Ginkgo
Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) Platform, today announced its $78M Series A to build a new, regenerative future
for the beauty industry through expressive biology—where biology is
used as a creative tool for self-expression. Arcaea will grow new
ingredients and product experiences for beauty by leveraging
technology such as DNA sequencing, biological engineering, and
fermentation to activate unique storytelling.
By culturing industry-leading, safe, and sustainable
ingredients, Arcaea intends to create a new supply chain for the
industry that does not rely on petrochemicals or on harvesting and
depleting natural resources. This approach enables Arcaea to tap
into the entire tree of life to develop new and previously
unimagined or inaccessible ingredients using current practices. By
harnessing the power of biology, Arcaea is poised to produce highly
sustainable products that can deliver new functionality and
performance across skincare, bodycare, haircare, and
aesthetics.
Jasmina Aganovic, a chemical and
biological engineering graduate from MIT, will lead Arcaea as CEO. She brings more than
a decade of industry experience translating innovation in beauty
through brands and products at various beauty companies, including
Fresh and Living Proof and the innovative microbiome beauty company
Mother Dirt, which changed the way we think about clean and healthy
skin. Instead of stripping and sterilizing our skin, many now
recognize the importance of the skin microbiome and the need for
cosmetic products that benefit, balance, and enhance the population
of microbes living on its surface. Jasmina saw the powerful role
that biology can play in the cosmetics industry, which prompted her
interest in creating tools to better realize its potential. She
joined Ginkgo Bioworks as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, where she
spent the last two years building the foundation for Arcaea.
"Through Arcaea, we see biology as a creative tool that will
drive the next generation of products and innovation. We can now
access many more molecules on earth ethically and sustainably, and
therefore can unlock unlimited and previously unimagined
possibilities for beauty," said Aganovic. "By bringing together new
advances in technology with designers, brand builders, and leaders
from every point of the supply chain, we can spark a change across
the entire ecosystem to create an industry that is reflective of
the future we want to see for the industry."
Arcaea has raised $78 million in
Series A funding from a consortium of strategic and financial
investors including Cascade Investment L.L.C., Viking Global,
CHANEL, Givaudan and Wittington Ventures. This Series A financing
round brings together a mix of expertise across the value chain of
the industry. It will enable Arcaea to initiate multiple technical
programs across key categories in beauty to develop a pipeline of
ingredients and brand launches and create a world of previously
unimaginable possibilities in beauty, such as: a fragrance
that no one on earth has ever smelled before; proteins that can
memorize hair styles; contouring through skincare and not just
makeup; and biological filters that protect skin from the
elements.
"One of the most impactful things we can do at Ginkgo is support
entrepreneurs and help them accelerate their timelines to make
incredible things happen with biology," said Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo
Bioworks. "We are thrilled to see Arcaea launch and begin its
journey to deliver creative solutions to the beauty industry
through biology."
About Arcaea (Ar-kay-uh)
Arcaea, LLC (Ar-kay-uh), a
company launched on the Ginkgo Bioworks platform, with the mission
to build a new foundation for the beauty industry through
expressive biology. Arcaea sees biology as a valuable creative tool
for self expression. The company will grow new ingredients and
product experiences for beauty through technology such as DNA
sequencing, biological engineering, fermentation and more. By
culturing industry-leading, safe, and sustainable ingredients,
Arcaea intends to create a new supply chain for the industry that
does not rely on petrochemicals or on harvesting and depleting
natural resources. By harnessing the power of biology, Arcaea is
poised to produce highly sustainable products that can deliver new
functionality and performance across skincare, bodycare, haircare,
and aesthetics. Arcaea was incubated on the Ginkgo Bioworks
platform and formed under the name Kalo Ingredients LLC.
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo is building a platform to
enable customers to program cells as easily as we can program
computers. The company's platform is enabling biotechnology
applications across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to
industrial chemicals to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo has also actively
supported a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including K-12
pooled testing, vaccine manufacturing optimization and therapeutics
discovery. For more information, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com.
Forward Looking Statements of Ginkgo Bioworks
This
press release contains certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements
regarding the potential of Ginkgo's cell programming platform.
These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the
words "believe," "project," "potential," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan,"
"may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will
likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements
are predictions, projections and other statements about future
events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and,
as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors
could cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this document, including but not
limited to: (i) the effect of Ginkgo's business combination with
Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp. ("Soaring Eagle") on Ginkgo's
business relationships, performance, and business generally, (ii)
risks that the business combination disrupts current plans of
Ginkgo and potential difficulties in Ginkgo's employee retention,
(iii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted
against Ginkgo related to its business combination with Soaring
Eagle, (iv) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities now that
it is a public company due to a variety of factors, including
changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which
Ginkgo plans to operate, variations in performance across
competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's
business and changes in the combined capital structure, (v) the
ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other
expectations after the completion of the business combination, and
identify and realize additional opportunities, and (vi) the risk of
downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology. The
foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully
consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and
uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Ginkgo's
current report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September
20, 2021 and other documents filed by Ginkgo from time to
time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other
important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events
and results to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Ginkgo assumes no
obligation and does not intend to update or revise these
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise. Ginkgo does not give any assurance
that it will achieve its expectations.
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SOURCE Arcaea