Tierra Biosciences
Tierra Biosciences is a San Leandro-based biotechnology company building an AI-enabled cell-free protein production platform that serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers in drug discovery and therapeutic development, with the Revr platform positioned for upcoming commercial launch.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Leandro, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Tierra Biosciences does
Tierra Biosciences is a biotechnology company founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Leandro, California, that has built an AI-enabled cell-free protein production platform. The platform combines machine-learning-guided protein design and prediction with cell-free protein synthesis to produce proteins — including complex or difficult-to-express targets — faster and more flexibly than traditional cell-based expression systems. The underlying technology architecture pairs computational protein prediction with an in vitro expression engine, enabling on-demand synthesis without the constraints of living cells.
The company serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers engaged in drug discovery, therapeutic development, and protein engineering workflows. Tierra is preparing to commercialize Revr, an AI-driven protein expression platform positioned as a forthcoming product offering, which suggests a transition from internal-use research and pilot collaborations toward an externally available platform, likely offered via fee-for-service, licensing, or platform-access commercial terms typical of biotech tools vendors.
The business is funded primarily through venture capital, having raised approximately $36.6 million across pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds between 2016 and 2024. Investors include Material Impact, Creative Ventures, IQT (In-Q-Tel), Social Capital, KdT Ventures, Fifty Years, Prosus Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Hillspire, and the National Science Foundation. The investor mix — spanning deep-tech VCs, corporate/strategic capital, and a government intelligence-linked strategic investor — signals alignment across commercial, biodefense, and research-mission customer segments.
Tierra Biosciences firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tierra Biosciences
- Legal name
- Tierra Biosciences
- Website
- https://tierrabiosciences.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tierra Biosciences is a San Leandro-based biotechnology company building an AI-enabled cell-free protein production platform that serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers in drug discovery and therapeutic development, with the Revr platform positioned for upcoming commercial launch.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tierra Biosciences industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Synthetic Biology / Cell-Free Protein Expression
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Synthetic Biology & Genetic Circuit Design Platforms (pathway engineering, chassis development) (HLAAAIAD), AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO)
Keywords
Where Tierra Biosciences is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Leandro
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Tierra Biosciences business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Tierra Biosciences product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tierra Biosciences provides an AI-driven cell-free protein production platform that predicts protein structures/properties and manufactures custom proteins on demand for research and drug discovery. The platform leverages cell-free expression technology to produce proteins without living cells, enabling faster synthesis of complex, toxic, or membrane-bound proteins for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers.
Product overview
Tierra Biosciences offers an AI-driven cell-free protein production platform that enables the prediction and manufacturing of proteins. The company's platform leverages cell-free expression technology to produce proteins without the use of living cells, allowing for faster and more efficient protein synthesis compared to traditional cell-based methods. According to available sources, the company has been developing this technology with a focus on expanding capabilities for protein design and manufacturing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AI-Driven Cell-Free Protein Production Platform An AI-driven platform that combines protein structure/property prediction with cell-free expression manufacturing to design, predict, and produce custom proteins on demand. Built for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers needing fast, on-demand production of complex, toxic, or membrane-bound proteins for drug discovery, therapeutic development, and biomarker research.
- Custom Protein Synthesis Services On-demand custom protein manufacturing service leveraging Tierra's cell-free expression system, provided to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for research, drug discovery, therapeutic development, and biomarker research. Enables production of proteins that are difficult or impossible to express in living cells, including complex, toxic, and membrane-bound proteins.
Quantifiable outcome
- Market growth driven by demand for faster protein synthesis methods and advancements in cell-free systems
Companies that use Tierra Biosciences
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Tierra Biosciences technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Tierra Biosciences partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Tierra Biosciences competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cradle Bio: AI-driven protein engineering platform helping customers design and optimize proteins; directly comparable to Tierra as an AI-native protein design company targeting biologics discovery and development.
- Profluent Bio: Uses AI foundation models to design novel proteins; comparable to Tierra's AI-enabled approach to protein creation and a direct competitor in AI protein design for therapeutic applications.
- Generate Biomedicines: AI-first generative biology company designing novel protein therapeutics; directly comparable to Tierra in combining AI protein design with wet-lab production for pharma/biotech customers.
- Absci: AI-driven generative protein design company pairing in silico design with proprietary wet-lab capabilities; comparable to Tierra's combined AI prediction and protein manufacturing model.
Broad incumbents
- Codexis: Established protein engineering company offering engineered enzymes and proteins for pharma and industrial biotech; a broader incumbent operating in Tierra's protein production and engineering space with deeper commercial scale.
- Ginkgo Bioworks: Large synthetic biology platform serving pharma, industrial biotech, and agriculture; broader incumbent that competes for synthetic biology and protein production customers, though cell-based rather than cell-free.
- Synthego: Provider of synthetic biology tools and services including engineered cells and RNA synthesis; broader incumbent supplying life science R&D customers with overlapping protein and synthetic biology workflows.
- Twist Bioscience: Synthetic biology platform providing DNA synthesis, antibody libraries, and engineered proteins; broader incumbent whose antibody and protein offerings overlap with Tierra's protein production use cases.
Emerging players
- Bota Bio: Synthetic biology company combining computation with biomanufacturing for proteins and ingredients; emerging peer with overlapping AI + bio-production model serving similar industrial and pharma use cases.
Regional players
- Culture Biosciences: Cloud bioprocess platform offering bioreactor services for cell-based protein production; adjacent competitor serving similar pharma/biotech customers with traditional cell-based rather than cell-free manufacturing.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Tierra Biosciences social profiles
Digital presenceTierra Biosciences financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tierra Biosciences leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Tierra Biosciences funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tierra Biosciences M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tierra Biosciences
What does Tierra Biosciences do?
Tierra Biosciences provides an AI-driven cell-free protein production platform that predicts protein structures/properties and manufactures custom proteins on demand for research and drug discovery. The platform leverages cell-free expression technology to produce proteins without living cells, enabling faster synthesis of complex, toxic, or membrane-bound proteins for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers.
Is Tierra Biosciences a public or private company?
Tierra Biosciences is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Tierra Biosciences founded?
Tierra Biosciences was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tierra Biosciences based?
Tierra Biosciences is headquartered in San Leandro, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Tierra Biosciences's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cradle Bio, Profluent Bio, Generate Biomedicines and Absci. Broad incumbents are Codexis, Ginkgo Bioworks, Synthego and Twist Bioscience. Bota Bio is listed as an emerging player. Culture Biosciences is listed as a regional player.
Does Tierra Biosciences have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tierra Biosciences.
What industry is Tierra Biosciences in?
Tierra Biosciences's product category is Synthetic Biology / Cell-Free Protein Expression. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAIAE, AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening), with a secondary code of HLAAAIAD, Synthetic Biology & Genetic Circuit Design Platforms (pathway engineering, chassis development). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 2836.