What Ayana Bio does

Ayana Bio is a Boston-based biotechnology company that produces plant and fungal bioactive ingredients for the health and wellness industry using plant cell culture technology, growing plant cells in controlled bioreactors rather than cultivating crops. Founded as a spinoff from Ginkgo Bioworks and backed by Viking Global and Cascade, the company operates the Plant Cell Advantage™ (PCA) portfolio — five standardized ingredients (Echinacea PCA™, Lemon Balm PCA™, Sage PCA™, Dog Rose PCA™, and Hedgenettle PCA™), each defined by quantitative polyphenol or polysaccharide specifications — supported by three enabling technology platforms: BioConserve™ (non-GMO conservation of native plant bioactive profiles), BioDirect™ (non-GMO directed evolution of cell lines), and BioEnrich™ (GMO enrichment of targeted compounds).

The company serves B2B customers across dietary supplement manufacturers, functional food and beverage brands, sports nutrition companies, medical food producers, personal care manufacturers, traditional medicine formulators, and companion animal product makers. Revenue is generated through bulk sales of bioactive ingredients under long-term supply agreements, with quote-based pricing negotiated through direct enterprise sales engagement and structured by volume, ingredient type, and contract length. Cell line development cycles of 9–12 months and production runs of approximately two weeks position the company to address batch inconsistency, heavy metal and pesticide contamination, adulteration risk, and climate-driven supply volatility in traditional botanical sourcing.

Ayana Bio differentiates through integration of AI and multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) into cell line selection, media optimization, and process tuning, and is pursuing scale through a June 2026 $1.25M BIRD Foundation-funded partnership with Israel's Brevel combining plant cell culture with illuminated fermentation, targeting sage-derived rosmarinic acid as a natural preservative alternative to synthetic BHA by 2026. The company maintains offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Aliso Viejo, California, employs 1–10 people, and has received grant funding from the NIH ($300K, May 2024) and BIRD Foundation ($1.25M, June 2026) in addition to undisclosed private capital.

Name

Ayana Bio

Legal name

Ayana Bio, LLC

Website

https://ayanabio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ayana Bio is a Boston-based biotechnology company that produces plant cell culture-derived bioactive ingredients for dietary supplement, food, beverage, sports nutrition, medical food, personal care, and companion animal manufacturers through B2B supply agreements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant-Based Bioactive Ingredients

NAICS

Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Antioxidants & Phytochemicals (Carotenoids, Tocopherols, Flavonoids, CoQ10, Resveratrol) (AFAJAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Phytogenics & Botanicals (Essential Oils, Plant Extracts) (AFADAKAF), Herbal & Botanical Supplements (CRADAGAD), Bio-based Food & Flavor Ingredients (Non-fuel Co-products: sweeteners, organic acids, flavors) (EUAAAIAJ)

Keywords

• Plant cell culture ingredients
• Bioactive ingredient manufacturing
• Botanical extract supply
• Plant-based nutraceuticals
• Cell-cultivated bioactives

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Bioactive Ingredient Sales: Ayana Bio generates revenue through the sale of plant cell culture-derived bioactive ingredients to consumer packaged goods companies. Ingredients are sold in bulk to manufacturers of dietary supplements, functional foods, beverages, sports nutrition products, personal care, and companion animal products. Revenue is derived from long-term supply agreements with CPG companies requiring consistent, high-quality botanical ingredients.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ayana Bio produces and sells standardized plant-cell-culture-derived bioactive ingredients under the Plant Cell Advantage™ (PCA) portfolio, including Echinacea PCA™, Lemon Balm PCA™, Sage PCA™, Dog Rose PCA™, and Hedgenettle PCA™. These ingredients are manufactured for B2B customers in dietary supplements, food and beverage, sports nutrition, medical food, personal care, and companion animal sectors, using three proprietary platforms (BioConserve™, BioDirect™, BioEnrich™) that enable consistent, contaminant-free botanical bioactives produced in controlled bioreactors independent of traditional agriculture.

Product overview

Ayana Bio is a plant cell culture biotechnology company that produces plant-based bioactive ingredients for health and wellness products. The company operates its Plant Cell Advantage™ (PCA) platform offering a portfolio of five standardized botanical ingredients (Echinacea PCA™, Lemon Balm PCA™, Sage PCA™, Dog Rose PCA™, and Hedgenettle PCA™) supported by three technology platforms: BioConserve™ (non-GMO conservation of native plant profiles), BioDirect™ (non-GMO directed evolution of cell lines), and BioEnrich™ (GMO enrichment of targeted bioactives). These ingredients serve dietary supplements, food, beverage, sports nutrition, medical food, personal care, traditional medicine, and companion animal applications, addressing supply chain sustainability, purity, and consistency challenges in botanical sourcing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Plant Cell Advantage™: A proprietary platform for delivering consistent, sustainable, and contaminant-free plant-based bioactive ingredients through plant cell culture technology.
• BioConserve™ Platform
• BioDirect™ Platform
• BioEnrich™ Platform

Products and services

• Echinacea PCA™ Plant cell culture-derived Echinacea purpurea ingredient standardized to ≥2.0% w/w total polyphenols (cichoric acid), supporting immune health and healthy inflammatory response. Targeted at dietary supplement, food and beverage, sports nutrition, personal care, and companion animal manufacturers.
• Lemon Balm PCA™ Plant cell culture-derived Melissa officinalis ingredient standardized to ≥5.0% w/w total polyphenols (rosmarinic acid), supporting healthy stress response and neuroprotection. Targeted at supplement, functional beverage, and wellness product manufacturers.
• Sage PCA™ Plant cell culture-derived Salvia officinalis ingredient standardized to ≥2.0% w/w total polyphenols (rosmarinic acid), supporting cognitive health. Targeted at supplement manufacturers and functional food and beverage developers.
• Dog Rose PCA™ Plant cell culture-derived Rosa canina ingredient standardized to ≥20.0% w/w total polysaccharides, supporting joint health. Targeted at supplement manufacturers and pet/companion animal nutrition producers.
• Hedgenettle PCA™ (Wood Betony) Plant cell culture-derived Stachys officinalis ingredient standardized to ≥2.0% w/w total polyphenols (verbascoside), supporting wellness applications. Targeted at supplement, functional food, and personal care manufacturers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminates botanical adulteration risk through closed, traceable production systems
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BrevelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2026Strategic U.S.-Israel partnership combining Ayana Bio's plant cell cultivation technology with Brevel's illuminated fermentation platform. The collaboration received a $1.25 million grant from Israel's BIRD Foundation to research whether Brevel's scalable LED lighting systems in bioreactors can enhance plant cell growth and bioactive compound yields. Target commercial scale by 2026, with initial focus on sage-derived rosmarinic acid as a natural preservative alternative to synthetic BHA.
• Ginkgo BioworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAyana Bio is a spinoff from Ginkgo Bioworks, having streamlined the fragmented workflow of bioactive discovery and production in partnership with Ginkgo. The collaboration enables Ayana Bio to leverage Ginkgo's synthetic biology capabilities and infrastructure for plant cell technology development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo Bioworks is Ayana Bio's parent and technology partner, providing synthetic biology and cell engineering platform capabilities. They share a deep platform-level relationship around cell programming for ingredient production, making them the most directly comparable counterparty in the space.
• IngredientWerks: IngredientWerks produces plant cell culture-derived ingredients for food, beverage, and supplement applications using a similar bioreactor-based approach. They overlap directly with Ayana Bio's core technology and target end-markets.
• Brightseed: Brightseed uses AI and bioactives discovery to identify plant-derived compounds for food, beverage, and supplement applications. They share Ayana Bio's mission of unlocking plant bioactives, although Brightseed focuses more on discovery and less on cell-culture-based manufacturing.
• Brevel: Brevel is Ayana Bio's active collaboration partner combining illuminated fermentation with plant cell culture. Their shared BIRD Foundation project pairs Ayana Bio's plant cell cultivation with Brevel's LED-enabled bioreactor platform, making them a tightly linked adjacent peer.

Emerging players

• Elo Life Systems: Elo Life Systems engineers plant-based ingredients, including stevia and monk fruit sweeteners, using precision biotechnology. They share the broader cell-engineering-for-food-ingredients approach and target similar B2B CPG and supplement customers.
• Motif FoodWorks: Motif FoodWorks develops next-generation plant-based food ingredients using biotechnology and fermentation. Their ingredient-discovery-and-production model overlaps with Ayana Bio's bioactives platform, although Motif focuses on protein and texture rather than small-molecule bioactives.

Broad incumbents

• ChromaDex: ChromaDex is a publicly traded ingredient company focused on nicotinamide riboside and other bioactive compounds for dietary supplements. They serve similar supplement and nutrition customers with science-backed botanical and metabolic ingredients, although they source differently (extraction/synthesis vs. cell culture).
• Indena: Indena is one of the largest botanical extract ingredient suppliers serving global pharmaceutical, supplement, and personal care customers. They are the dominant incumbent in the supply chain that Ayana Bio seeks to disrupt with plant cell culture.
• Givaudan: Givaudan is the global leader in flavors, fragrances, and natural ingredients serving food, beverage, personal care, and nutraceutical markets. They compete for the same CPG accounts and have extensive R&D capabilities that represent potential competition or partnership opportunity.
• Perfect Day: Perfect Day is a precision fermentation company producing animal-free dairy proteins via engineered microorganisms. They share the broader synthetic-biology-for-food-ingredients thesis and represent the most visible precedent for cell-based ingredient production at commercial scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AYANA_BIO

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ayana Bio