Culture Biosciences, a Bay Area biotech focused on biomanufacturing as a service, reeled in $5.5 million in funding that will be used to expand its operations.
The funding was led by Section 32. Additional participants in the financing include Refactor Capital and Verily.
Culture said the money will target expansion of its digital biomanufacturing platform and development of additional bioreactor facilities.
“Biotechnology is poised to transform industries ranging from healthcare to food, but it is limited by arduous and time-consuming approaches to fermentation, the key process involved in manufacturing bio-based products at scale,” Will Patrick, Culture’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Patrick added that Culture's goal is to make fermentation a digital experience that will allow scientists to conduct experiments from their computers much as a software engineer tests and compiles code.
The company’s platform, which is currently being used by leading biotech companies as part of an effort to optimize R&D, integrates bioreactors, cloud monitoring and remote operations.