Cataya Biosciences Secures RMB 250 Million Series B Financing Led by Hengxu Capital and Eight Roads Ventures

Recently,Shanghai Ketaya Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Ketaya Biotech”) has completed a RMB 250 million Series B financing round, jointly led by Hengxu Capital and STIHL Capital, with participation from Henan Huirong and Shixin Capital. Yuanqi Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor.. This financing round also marks the fourth completed by Ketaya Biotech within nearly two years of its establishment, bringing its cumulative capital reserves to approximately RMB 500 million.

Synthetic biology is a rapidly evolving frontier in recent years. After two decades of exploration, leading global synthetic biology companies have gradually integrated technologies from engineering, software, and algorithms into their biological R&D platforms. This shift has transformed product development in biomanufacturing from traditional labor-intensive methods to automated, high-throughput, data-driven, and intelligent processes, resulting in geometric improvements in efficiency. China’s bio-fermentation industry has achieved significant scale, cost, and efficiency advantages on the supply side of biomanufacturing following years of rapid development. Currently, China ranks first globally in both output volume and production value of fermentation products. Effectively integrating cutting-edge overseas platform technologies with domestic strengths in product commercialization and large-scale production is key to the successful development and sustained competitiveness of Chinese synthetic biology enterprises.

Ketaiya Biologics was established in Shanghai, China, in September 2021. It was founded by the former Global Vice President of R&D and President of China at Amyris, bringing together top talents from home and abroad, including former executives from Meihua Bio, Evonik (Germany), and Amyris. The Ketaiya team boasts extensive experience in synthetic biology R&D, product development, and large-scale manufacturing, with an average of over ten years of deep industry engagement. Dr. Zhao Lishan, the founder, has more than 20 years of experience in the R&D and industrialization of synthetic biology technologies. He has led or participated in the development of multiple innovative technologies, including the creation of the world’s first synthetic biology R&D platform, as well as the scale-up and commercialization of more than ten new synthetic biology products. Dr. Zhao also possesses rich management and marketing expertise, having previously pioneered Amyris’s business operations in China.

Currently, there are only a handful of enterprises in China that possess comprehensive and independent R&D capabilities for synthetic biology platforms. After nearly two years of development, Ketaiya has established capabilities in its “DBTL” (“Design-Build-Test-Learn”) platform, covering core stages including data science, strain engineering, in vivo enzyme engineering, fermentation engineering, separation and purification, and scale-up manufacturing. At present, Ketaiya’s synthetic biology platform has taken shape, basically achieving full-process digitalization and automation, thereby efficiently empowering the entire R&D, process development, and production workflows. Leveraging this R&D platform, the company has already launched two products and completed strain and process development as well as pilot-scale trials for multiple product pipelines. The company focuses on the biosynthesis of terpenes, amino acids and their derivatives, and oligosaccharides, promoting the R&D and commercialization of products in the fields of personal care, food nutrition, and pharmaceutical ingredients, to provide customers with cost-effective, pure, and safe products.

Regarding the completion of this round of financing,Dr. Zhao Lishan, Founder of Ketaiya BioStatement: We extend our sincere gratitude to both new and existing shareholders for their support and trust in Ketaiya Biologics. Since our inception, our goal has been to build Ketaiya into a company that combines cutting-edge R&D capabilities with large-scale manufacturing prowess. Over the past 18 months, our platform technologies have become increasingly refined, and R&D efficiency has improved significantly, successfully advancing multiple product pipelines into pilot-scale or commercialization stages ahead of schedule. This round of financing will help us further strengthen the advantages of our R&D platform, while focusing on enhancing scalable production capacity to accelerate the commercialization of our products.

Mr. Lu Yongtao, Chairman of Hengxu CapitalStatement: Hengxu Capital is honored to lead this round of investment in Ketaiya. Against the backdrop of dual-carbon green production, synthetic biology is crucial for global sustainable development. The challenges in synthetic biology lie in product selection, technological R&D platforms, and scale-up capabilities. Dr. Zhao’s team has built a competitive moat for Ketaiya through their exceptional product selection insight, profound R&D technical reserves, and efficient execution capabilities. Hengxu Capital remains optimistic about the development potential of synthetic biology in China and firmly believes that, under Dr. Zhao’s leadership and with the team’s efforts, leveraging the company’s full-chain DBTL platform capabilities, Ketaiya will emerge as a leading enterprise in China’s synthetic biology sector.

Zang Jialun, Managing Partner and Head of China at Stone VenturesStatement: We remain firmly optimistic about the development prospects of synthetic biology and biomanufacturing in China. Dr. Zhao and his team, representing a rare caliber of top-tier interdisciplinary talent in the industry, have driven remarkable progress and breakthroughs across all facets of the company—including R&D platform accumulation, multi-layered pipeline layout, scale-up, and commercialization—within just two years since its inception. As the lead investor in the Series A+ round and co-lead investor in the Series B round, STO Capital continues to support and increase its investment in Ketaiya. We are convinced that the company possesses hard-to-replicate, end-to-end expertise spanning from laboratory research to commercialization, and we have high expectations for its growth potential and social value.

Dr. Ge Dangqiao, Deputy General Manager of Henan Innovation Investment Group and Deputy General Manager of Huirong FundStatement: As the first investment institution in China to establish a dedicated synthetic biology fund, we have closely monitored the entrepreneurial progress of Dr. Zhao’s team and are honored to participate in this follow-on investment round. The Ketaiya team possesses strong industry experience, and its product pipeline strategy demonstrates strategic foresight. By leveraging its leading-edge R&D capabilities that integrate IT (Information Technology) and BT (Biotechnology), the company is rapidly advancing the industrialization of its pipeline. We are deeply impressed by Dr. Zhao’s humility and integrity, as well as the pragmatic and steady approach of the core management team. At a time when the market expects synthetic biology companies to deliver on their promises, we firmly believe that Ketaiya will emerge as an industry leader. Relying on the advantages of government-guided funds, Huirong Gewu Fund is committed to providing in-depth support for the project’s pilot-scale testing and industrialization processes.

Shanghai SAIC Hengxu Investment Management Co., Ltd. (“Hengxu Capital”; AMAC Registration No.: P1070270), established in 2019, is a private equity investment firm under Shanghai Automotive Group Financial Holdings Management Co., Ltd. (“SAIC Financial Holdings”), the financial platform of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group) (“SAIC Motor”). Leveraging SAIC Motor’s comprehensive industrial advantages and the efficient synergistic empowerment of SAIC Financial Holdings, the company aims to maximize investor returns by strategically investing in emerging industries such as green mobility, mobility ecosystems, and health ecosystems. It contributes to the development of SAIC Motor’s innovative industrial chain and the enhancement of its mobility ecosystem, striving to become a respected premier industrial capital firm and a trusted top-tier investment institution.

Fidelity International Ventures (FIV) is a global venture capital firm backed by Fidelity Investments. Leveraging its unique capital structure, FIV flexibly deploys funds to support innovative companies in disrupting or leading their respective markets. Currently, FIV manages over $11 billion in assets globally, with investment teams located in China, India, Japan, Europe, and the United States. Worldwide, FIV focuses on early-stage and growth-stage investments in the healthcare and technology sectors, having invested in more than 300 high-growth innovative enterprises.

Huirong Fund is a private equity fund management institution under Henan Innovation Investment Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Henan Investment Group. It manages the Henan Provincial Emerging Industry Investment Guidance Fund and the Venture Capital Guidance Fund, forming a parent-subsidiary fund cluster that spans various industrial sectors and covers the angel, seed, growth, and mature stages. In April 2022, Huirong Fund established China’s first specialized fund dedicated to synthetic biology investments—the Huirong Gewu Fund—with a target total size of RMB 1.5 billion for its first phase. Starting from advanced technologies, the fund invests in top-tier scientific research capabilities to promote the development of synthetic biology technologies. Guided by product commercialization, it leverages Henan’s traditional starch fermentation capacity and pilot-scale translation platforms to build a comprehensive ecosystem for the synthetic biology industry.