bitBiome Completes Seed Extension Round; Cumulative Funding Reaches 7 Billion JPY

bitBiome Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yuji Suzuki) has announced the completion of its seed extension round through a third close.

In this third close, the company secured funding through third-party allocation of shares to new and existing global investors, including Darwin Ventures (Taiwan), In-Q-Tel (USA), Valuence Ventures (USA), and IT-Farm. Additionally, the company received loans from financial institutions, including the 'UPSIDER BLUE DREAM Fund' managed by UPSIDER Capital Inc. During this period, the company was also selected for multiple commissioned and grant-based projects, such as NEDO's Bio-manufacturing Revolution Promotion Program. As a result, the funding amount for this third close (including equity, debt, and grants) reached approximately 3.5 billion JPY (with about 80% being non-dilutive funding), bringing the total cumulative funding since its inception to approximately 7 billion JPY (about two-thirds of which is non-dilutive funding).

About bitBiome bitBiome is a next-generation AI x BIO company that pioneers new possibilities in biotechnology through the power of data and AI. By leveraging proprietary single-cell genome analysis technology and one of the world's largest microbial genome databases, the company advances the understanding and prediction of biological functions to realize ideal bio-manufacturing from R&D to industrial application.

Market Background and Social Challenges Bio-manufacturing is regarded globally as a strategic industry from the perspective of economic security. Utilizing its proprietary microbial single-cell genome analysis technology, 'bit-MAP®︎,' bitBiome collects genetic data from uncultured microorganisms with over 100 times the efficiency of conventional methods, building its proprietary 'bit-GEM' database with 3 billion genes. Furthermore, by combining its unique enzyme/strain development platform with high-throughput screening technologies such as AI and robotics, it enables the development of target enzymes, microbial strains, and final products with significantly higher probability, efficiency, and speed than ever before.

Progress Since Previous Funding Round 1. Expansion of Leadership for Global Operations To drive global business expansion, the following three individuals have joined the management team: - Dr. Dipnath Baidyaroy (CBO): Leads global business development and partner strategy. - Aaron Hammons (Head of Global Business Development): Strengthens solution proposals leveraging his extensive network in the life sciences sector. - Dr. Richard Fox (Head of Innovation): Leads the development of next-generation genomic biology models (SENS-AI) utilizing massive microbial data.