Three Chinese Biomanufacturing Firms Secure Over RMB 200 Million in Funding with Backing from CIC, Kai-Fu Lee's Sinovation Ventures, and L'Oréal

Three biomanufacturing companies have recently secured financing, with prominent investors backing each deal.

It is reported that, in recent daysChengdu-Based Steviol Glycoside Producer and Distributor—Sichuan Ingia Biosynthetic Co., Ltd.—Completes Financing, with Sinovation Ventures as the Investor.Innovation Works was founded by Kai-Fu Lee in2009Year9months, with deep expertise in artificial intelligence and hard tech, robotics and automation, general technology, and medical technology.

INGIAis one of the largest steviol glycoside suppliers in China, serving not only as a representative enterprise in Chengdu’s synthetic biology sector but also emerging as a prominent player in global competition.is one of only three companies globally to have received U.S.FDA-GRASone of the certified enterprises, and the only Chinese enterprise.

INGIA was founded in2015years, focusing on manufacturing natural products using synthetic biology technology. Its products are widely used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical aesthetics, nutritional health, and food and beverages. As a representative enterprise in the synthetic biology sector of Chengdu Tianfu New Area, it possesses China’s largest R&D and production platform for synthetic biology of natural products. Its independently developed rare steviol glycoside ingredient, RebaudiosideI(Rebl)Obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Approval(FDA)ofGRAS(Generally Recognized As Safe, generally recognized as safe)Certification.

In addition to steviol glycosides, INGIA's existing product portfolio also includes coenzymeQ10, novel steviol glycosides, β-Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (abbreviated asNMN) vanillin and others; the company’s product pipeline spans multiple sectors, including pharmaceuticals, health supplements, and food.

Synthetic biology technologies offer particularly prominent advantages for the scaled production of sugar substitutes, but this may also lead to short-term market imbalances.

For example, the sweetness of erythritol is that of sucrose70%, industrial-scale production utilizes microbial fermentation. According to a research report by Guotai Junan Securities, erythritol production capacity is primarily concentrated in China,Sanyuan BiologyNo. 1 Global Market Share,2023aged only6the total erythritol production capacity of the leading domestic manufacturers will reach44.510,000 tons/Year, is2021of China's total erythritol consumption in20times, with a significant imbalance between supply and demand,2024Domestic erythritol prices fell to1.1210,000 yuan/tons, close to the cost line.

Apart from INGIA, the other two companies are both bio-based material firms.

Recently, Zhejiang Tangneng Technology Co., Ltd. announced that,Successfully completed equity and debt financing exceeding2100 million yuan.This round of financing has attracted, includingParticipated by multiple renowned institutions, including SDIC, the Provincial Green Petrochemical and New Materials Fund, and entities at both the Zhoushan municipal and county levels., which is part of a multi-tiered fund linkage investment mechanism involving national, provincial, municipal, and county levels.

This financing round supports the company’s core project—an annual production capacity of12000ton5-5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), pilot-scale workshop, and supporting auxiliary facilities, providing sufficient funding to accelerate their completion.World's FirstHMF10,000-ton production line.

It is reported that Tangneng Technology was established in2017Year12a bio-based furan new material R&D, production, and application enterprise, with core technology originating from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Successfully overcameHMFIt has overcome technical barriers such as low selectivity, unstable products, and difficult purification in the production process, and pioneered continuous manufacturing processes internationally.

Based onHMFThe developed series of downstream products has been successfully applied in multiple fields, including high-performance engineering plastics, high-barrier film materials, bio-based fibers, adhesives, surfactants, eco-friendly coatings, feed additives, and food additives, achieving domestic self-sufficiency and independent control over key raw materials.

In recent years,SDICIncreasing emphasis is being placed on investment in the field of biomanufacturing, with “funds+“Direct Investment” Dual-Engine Driven Investment Model, Centered AroundIndustrial Strains, Enzyme Preparations, Minor Amino Acids, and Food and Nutritional Additivesand other niche sectors, accelerating industrial layout.

Data shows that the fund scale currently managed by SDIC Group exceeds2700100 million yuan,Cumulative Investment by SDIC-affiliated Funds in Biomanufacturing Companies25home, with a total amount exceeding40100 million yuan.

Another company that secured financing is Zhejiang Ruiwei New Material Technology Co., Ltd., a provider of biodegradable material solutions.

10Month10Day, the official WeChat account showed that Ruiwei New Materials completed the third round of equity financing, with the investor being Meili Linghang Fund (Beauty Pioneer Fund), the fund is established by beauty industry giant L'Oréal andTiantu CapitalAt2025Co-founded and established in。It is reported that Ruiwei New Materials raised tens of millions of yuan in this round of financing.

It is understood that Ruiwei New Materials was established in2022years, focusing on the R&D and production of biodegradable materials in the packaging and fiber sectors, with two R&D laboratories and multiple factories; the funds will be used to expand production capacity and upgrade technology.

Similar to SDIC, L'Oréal also appears to be increasing its investments in the field of biomanufacturing.

This Year9Month, United StatesAISynthetic Biology CompaniesDebuAnnounced Receipt of2000ten thousand U.S. dollars (approximately RMB1.4billion yuan) in strategic investment, with investors including entities under the Singapore Economic Development BoardEDBI, L'Oréal's venture capital fundBOLDetc., and in2023The company had already received two rounds of investment from L'Oréal Group around that time.

Additionally, this year5In [Month], L'Oréal Group announced an investment in Weiming Shiguang, a leading Chinese biotechnology startup. L'Oréal Group also declared a strategic partnership with the innovative Chinese biotech company Weiming Shiguang, involving a minority equity stake. The two parties will jointly research and develop innovative bioactive ingredients, promote their scaled-up production, and utilize low-carbon biomanufacturing technologies to develop cosmetic raw materials.