Again (Copenhagen, Denmark) announced it has acquired Genomatica Inc. (San Diego, California), the pioneer in industrial bioprocess engineering. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is one of the most significant consolidations in industrial biotechnology to date, bringing two of the field’s most advanced companies under one roof, and marking a major augmentation of Again’s capabilities.
Key highlights of the transaction include:
- One end-to-end AI and computation stack for biomanufacturing: the acquisition unlocks Genomatica’s world-class computational capabilities in the field of de novo molecule discovery and design. Combining two decades of in-silico pathway and strain design, as well as predictive machine learning analytics experience, with Again’s AI-driven bioprocess design suite — creating the industry’s most complete artificial intelligence design engine.
- Closing the loop on scale-up: the hard challenge is not simulating, but scaling. By merging Genomatica’s full-stack simulation capabilities with Again’s scale-up modeling, cutting-edge engineering and execution expertise, the combined platform does what AI-only labs can’t — it designs and scales.
- Accelerated deployment across a range of novel feedstock sources: the integrated entity dramatically compresses the timeline from de novo pathway design to industrial execution, providing the rapidly growing biomanufacturing sector with high-throughput deployment across diverse, abundant feedstocks.
- Important geopolitical timing: this acquisition lands at a pivotal moment for biomanufacturing, as reshoring accelerates under sovereign priorities like the U.S. BIOSECURE Act and the EU’s Biotech Act II, policies set to mobilize tens of billions of dollars in investment to cement domestic bio-based supply chains.
For years, Again has been building toward a single vision: designing feedstock-independent, efficient and reliable pathways to make the products the world depends on. The acquisition of Genomatica accelerates that vision, bringing capabilities that will immediately turbocharge Again’s commercial and technical offerings for its array of global customers.
At the core of the deal is data. Again is acquiring Genomatica’s entire AI and computational biotech platform, including an unmatched patent portfolio and data spanning experimental results, structural and scale-up insights, and development outcomes. That data flows directly into Again’s computational engines, sharpening the accuracy of its models and compressing the time from idea to market for new products. More and better data makes the platform smarter, and the smarter platform will move even faster.
The combined company now operates across the full arc of production, from pathway discovery to industrial-scale manufacturing. Commercially, that gives Again a diversified model with three ways to create value: licensing technology where it scales, co-developing production pathways where they are mission-critical, and selling products from existing and upcoming assets, thus building a business that captures value at every stage. Genomatica was awarded the prestigious Kirkpatrick Award in 2013 by Chemical Engineering Magazine.
Max Kufner, CEO of Again, said: “AI is revolutionizing biology, but algorithms are only as good as their ability to translate into real-world, commercial-scale execution. Genomatica pioneered AI and computational biotechnology for molecule discovery and design. By integrating that with our scale-up platform and novel feedstock technologies, we are building the world’s leading biomanufacturing platform, unlocking novel products and supply chains that industries critically need.”