Biotechnology start-up Ginkgo Bioworks raised a $350 million fund, dubbed The Ferment Fund, to invest in spinout ventures that use its bioengineering technology in a variety of industries, including beauty, that are just starting to use cutting-edge biology.

WHO: Ginkgo is one of the world’s largest privately held biotechnology firms. Headquartered in Boston, Ginkgo Bioworks uses the most advanced technology on the planet—biology—to grow products instead of manufacturing them. The company’s technology platform is bringing biotechnology into consumer goods markets, enabling fragrance, cosmetics, nutrition, and food companies to make better products.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “As computers got cheaper, a whole host of applications became accessible. We think the same thing is true for biology,” Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, said to Reuters. “The big thing we’re trying to accomplish now is building an ecosystem for people to build apps essentially for cells.”

DETAILS:

• General Atlantic, Viking Global, and Cascade Investment participated in the funding.
• The Ferment Fund investment vehicle will invest in two to three companies a year.
• Despite the large amount of investment for a biotechnology company, Ginkgo has no immediate plans to go public and hopes to have several successful spinouts first.
• Ginkgo announced a Series E financing round of $290 million in September, aimed at further expanding its platform for cell programming; the round of funding brought the company’s valuation to $4 billion.
• Investors in the Series E included Y Combinator, DCVC, MassChallenge, Felicis Ventures, General Atlantic, Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, and Viking Global.