Bota Biosciences Funding, Investors & Competitors

Bota Biosciences has raised $137M across 3 funding rounds, most recently a $100M Series B in July 2021.

Last Bota Biosciences funding round

$100M

Series B · Jul 2021

Cumulative funding Bota Biosciences raised

$137M

across 3 funding rounds

Key investors in Bota Biosciences

  • Matrix Partners China
  • Sherpa Healthcare Partners
  • HSG
  • 5Y Capital
  • Source Code Capital
  • Baidu Ventures
  • Hedosophia
  • Recharge Capital

Bota Biosciences Overview

About Bota Biosciences

Bota Biosciences is a Shanghai-headquartered industrial biotech firm that engineers microbes for large-scale production of sustainable ingredients. Its biofoundry platform designs strains for nutrition, food, personal care, and animal health markets, producing items like proteins and flavors via fermentation. Bota operates a pilot plant and full-scale facility in China, supporting clients from BASF to food giants. Founded in 2018, it has secured $145 million in funding from investors including Hong Shan Capital and Matrix Partners.


Founded

2019

HQ

ChinaHangzhou

Website

bota.bio

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Product sales

Bota Biosciences Funding History

Bota Biosciences has raised a total of $137M across 3 funding rounds.

Bota Biosciences' first fundraising round was a $15M Series A in September 2020. The most recent completed round was a $100M Series B in July 2021.

Bota Biosciences funding rounds

Bota Biosciences funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Jul 2021Series BHSG (lead); Matrix Partners China; Sherpa Healthcare Partners; 5Y Capital; Hedosophia; Source Code Capital$100MBota Bio, a global industrial biotechnology company founded in 2019, raised more than $100 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round on July 29, 2021, led by Sequoia Capital China (also referred to as HSG), with participation from Matrix Partners China, Source Code Capital, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, 5Y Capital, and others. This brought the company's total funding to $145 million, including a prior strategic investment from BASF Venture Capital. The proceeds are intended to expand global operations and develop the lab-to-pilot scale platform for rapid deployment of products in consumer goods, food, nutrition, and pharmaceuticals. Bota Bio's core technology is the Bota Freeway platform, which integrates advanced digital tools, lab automation, and expanded synthetic biology cycles including downstream process development and non-traditional microbial strains to accelerate enzyme and cell factory design. The platform enables high-throughput screening data 50% faster than existing technologies, supporting sustainable biomanufacturing to replace fossil-fuel-based processes. The company engineers microorganisms and biological components for applications like transitioning active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production from chemical to biological methods. Led by co-founder and CEO Cheryl Cui, Bota Bio positions itself to meet growing demand for sustainable supply chains, highlighted by pandemic-driven awareness of biology's role, such as in COVID-19 vaccines. Investors like Neil Shen of Sequoia Capital China praised the team's integrated platform for delivering bio-based alternatives at scale.
Dec 2020Series A-$22MBota Biosciences (Bota Bio) is a global industrial biotechnology company founded in 2019, specializing in sustainable biomanufacturing by engineering microorganisms and biological components to replace traditional chemical processes. The company targets pharmaceuticals (including APIs), consumer goods, food, and nutrition, using its Bota Freeway platform that integrates digital tools, lab automation, and expanded synthetic biology cycles for faster enzyme and cell factory development. Bota Bio raised over $100 million in an oversubscribed Series B round on July 29, 2021, led by Sequoia Capital China (HongShan), with participation from Matrix Partners China, Source Code Capital, Sherpa Healthcare Partners (Sherpa Venture Capital), 5Y Capital, CMB International Capital, Meituan, and prior backers. Earlier, it received strategic investment from BASF Venture Capital. Funds will expand global operations, enhance the lab-to-pilot platform, and deploy product pipelines amid rising demand for sustainable supply chains post-pandemic. Bota Bio positions itself to help manufacturers transition to bio-based processes, accelerating design-build-test-learn cycles by 50% via high-throughput screening. Led by co-founder and CEO Cheryl Cui, Ph.D., it operates from San Francisco and Hangzhou, China, emphasizing biology's role in circular economy and reduced environmental impact in manufacturing.
Sep 2020Series AMatrix Partners China (lead); Sherpa Healthcare Partners; Baidu Ventures; Recharge Capital; Nest.Bio Ventures$15M-

Who has invested in Bota Biosciences?

9 investors have backed Bota Biosciences across its funding rounds, including Matrix Partners China, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, HSG, 5Y Capital, Source Code Capital and Baidu Ventures.

Lead investors include HSG and Matrix Partners China.


Bota Biosciences Investors

Investors in Bota Biosciences by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Matrix Partners ChinaChinaBeijing2LeadSep 2020
Sherpa Healthcare PartnersChinaBeijing2ParticipantSep 2020
Baidu VenturesChinaBeijing1ParticipantSep 2020
5Y CapitalChinaChina1ParticipantJul 2021
HedosophiaUnited KingdomLondon1ParticipantJul 2021
Recharge CapitalUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantSep 2020
Nest.Bio VenturesUnited StatesBoston, MA1ParticipantSep 2020

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Bota Biosciences Competitors

Bota Biosciences competitors include listed companies like CF Industries, Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, Industries Qatar and SABIC Agri-Nutrient, and private ones like Pow.bio and Colossal Biosciences.

Public and private companies comparable to Bota Biosciences
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Pow.bioUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$28M-
CF IndustriesUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$7.1B$3.2B$20B3.1x
Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryChinaChinaPublicly listed$2.3B$1.2B$20B4.5x
Industries QatarQatarQatarPublicly listed$4.4B$1.6B$17B4.4x
SABIC Agri-NutrientSaudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaPublicly listed$3.5B$1.4B$16B4.1x
Colossal BiosciencesUnited StatesAustin, TXPrivate--$10B-

Bota Biosciences Public Comps

Bota Biosciences is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Wuxi AppTec, Samsung BioLogics, Lonza Group, IQVIA, Wuxi Biologics, Divi's Laboratories, Sartorius, CF Industries, Qinghai Salt Lake Industry and Industries Qatar.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Wuxi AppTec$6.8B$4B10.0x8.2x17.0x16.2x
Samsung BioLogics$3.3B$2B14.0x12.5x23.3x23.6x
Lonza Group$7.9B$2.5B6.4x5.9x20.5x18.0x
IQVIA$16B$3.4B3.6x3.4x17.2x14.8x
Wuxi Biologics$3.2B$1.3B7.8x7.0x19.4x18.0x
Divi's Laboratories$1.1B$374M23.3x21.2x68.0x61.8x
Sartorius$3.4B$943M7.1x6.8x25.7x22.0x
CF Industries$7.1B$3.2B3.5x3.1x7.7x6.8x

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Common questions about Bota Biosciences

When was Bota Biosciences founded?Bota Biosciences was founded in 2019.
Where is Bota Biosciences headquartered?Bota Biosciences is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.
Is Bota Biosciences publicly listed?No, Bota Biosciences is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has Bota Biosciences raised?Bota Biosciences has raised $137M across 3 funding rounds.
What was Bota Biosciences' last funding round?Bota Biosciences' last funding round was a $100M Series B in July 2021, led by HSG.
Who are Bota Biosciences' investors?Bota Biosciences' investors include Matrix Partners China, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, Baidu Ventures, 5Y Capital, Hedosophia, Recharge Capital, Nest.Bio Ventures, HSG and Source Code Capital.
Which companies are comparable to Bota Biosciences?Companies comparable to Bota Biosciences include Pow.bio, CF Industries, Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, Industries Qatar, SABIC Agri-Nutrient and Colossal Biosciences.

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