Ginkgo Bioworks today announced that it has signed an agreement with Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, to develop custom strains of microorganisms that will be used to produce a key cultured ingredient.
“ADM’s expertise in ingredients and customization is unparalleled,” said Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. “With our bioengineering resources, we are excited to offer them a more affordable and sustainable way to produce these ingredients and continue to educate the market about what is possible.”
Ginkgo Bioworks is rapidly expanding to deliver designer organisms to customers across a range of industries, including cosmetics, nutrition, flavors, fragrances, insect control, AgBio, sweeteners and others. They recently closed a $100 Million C round of financing, which is enabling growth of their organism engineering foundries, where new strains are prototyped for customers. These strains produce cultured ingredients in a process similar to a microbrewery.
“As our customers work to develop new, unique products to meet consumer demand, they rely on ADM to provide innovative ingredient and formulation solutions throughout the process,” said Todd Werpy, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of ADM. “Partnerships with companies like Ginkgo Bioworks elevate our ability to be an ideal problem-solving partner for our customers, and we are excited about the possibilities this new agreement will create.”