Allozymes

High-Level Overview

Allozymes is a Singapore-based biotechnology company founded in 2020 that develops custom-designed enzymes using proprietary ultra-high-throughput microfluidics technology to enable sustainable biosolutions.[1][2][3][4] It serves industries including pharmaceuticals, life sciences, food and nutrition, chemicals, personal care, and bioremediation by screening up to 20 million enzyme variants daily, building a database of 7 billion data points annually, and offering enzyme engineering services, licensing, and partnerships that reduce waste and replace resource-intensive processes.[1][4][6] With $20 million in total funding, including a $15 million Series A-II round about a year ago, Allozymes demonstrates strong growth momentum through global expansion, such as its 2024 European subsidiary in Toulouse, France, and collaborations like with Bonumose for sustainable food ingredients.[1][2]

Origin Story

Allozymes was co-founded in 2020 by Peyman Salehian and Akbar Vahidi at the National University of Singapore, driven by their shared passion for sustainability and frustration with the world's reliance on fossil fuels.[3] Peyman, a serial entrepreneur and chemical engineer with prior deep-tech success, and Akbar, inspired by nature from his Iranian upbringing and focused on biofuel enzymes, converged on enzyme engineering as a path to greener chemistry.[3] The idea emerged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when establishing a lab in space-constrained Singapore proved challenging but enabled rapid R&D, leading to their first commercial success and validating the microfluidics platform.[3]

Core Differentiators

• Proprietary Microfluidics Platform: Screens 20 million enzyme variants per day with over 99% accuracy, enabling 10x faster engineering and 200x higher success rates than traditional robotics, combined with computational design and machine learning.[4][5][6]
• Massive Data Advantage: Generates 7 billion data points yearly to build one of the world's largest enzyme databases, powering AI-driven predictions for novel functions across trillions of combinatorial possibilities.[4][6]
• End-to-End Scalability: Offers services from discovery to 150L bioreactor piloting, including cell lysis, purification, and drying, with flexible partnership models like licensing and co-development.[1][4][6]
• Sustainability Impact: Prevents 6.4 million liters of biohazard waste and 6,400 tons of plastic waste by optimizing bioprocesses for eco-friendly production in food, pharma, and chemicals.[4]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Allozymes rides the bioeconomy wave, accelerating the shift from petrochemicals to biology-based manufacturing amid climate pressures, resource scarcity, and demand for sustainable alternatives in a $4 trillion chemicals market.[1][4] Its timing aligns with advances in AI, microfluidics, and synthetic biology, enabling rapid enzyme optimization that traditional methods can't match, while market forces like EU green regulations and consumer demand for natural products favor its solutions.[1][2][4] By partnering with firms like Bonumose and expanding globally, Allozymes influences the ecosystem, upcycling waste streams into fibers for obesity solutions and bioremediating pollutants, thus lowering barriers for industries to adopt biotech at scale.[2][4]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Allozymes is poised to dominate enzyme engineering with its data moat and platform speed, likely scaling partnerships in food nutrition and pharma while leveraging AI for predictive design.[2][4][6] Trends like AI-bio convergence and circular economies will propel growth, potentially evolving it into a foundational biofoundry influencing trillion-dollar industries. As a sustainability pioneer from Singapore, its global push signals enduring impact in greening manufacturing.