Agile BioFoundry

What Agile BioFoundry does

Agile BioFoundry (ABF) is a consortium of seven U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories, established in 2017 and led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, that operates a public research infrastructure for advancing industrial biomanufacturing of fuels and chemicals. ABF integrates Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) capabilities spanning metabolic pathway development, genetic tools for over 15 host organisms, automated laboratory workflows (proteomic sample preparation, robotic protein purification/enzyme assays, high-throughput PKS engineering), targeted metabolomics, and techno-economic and life-cycle assessment. Machine learning is embedded in the platform via an Automated Recommendation Tool for PKS design and pathway optimization. The consortium serves two primary customer segments: industrial biotechnology companies developing bio-based products (fuels, chemicals, materials) and academic research institutions working on synthetic biology and biomanufacturing.

Name

Agile BioFoundry

Legal name

Agile BioFoundry

Website

https://agilebiofoundry.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Agile BioFoundry is a DOE-funded consortium of seven U.S. national laboratories that partners with industry and academia to accelerate industrial biomanufacturing through its Design-Build-Test-Learn platform, spanning strain engineering, automation, and techno-economic assessment for bio-based fuels and chemicals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomanufacturing Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Bioprocess Development & Scale-Up/Scale-Down Platforms (DoE, high-throughput, modeling) (HLAAAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bio-based Platform & Commodity Chemicals (e.g., bio-ethylene, bio-propylene, bio-BTX, bio-methanol) (EUAAAIAA), Biofuels & Renewable Fuels Switching (Biomethane/RNG, Bio-oils, Sustainable Biomass) (EUABAJAD), Synthetic Biology & Genetic Circuit Design Platforms (pathway engineering, chassis development) (HLAAAIAD)

Keywords

• Biomanufacturing research
• Metabolic engineering
• Strain development
• Synthetic biology
• Biofoundry services

Headquarters

HQ city

Emeryville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. DOE Federal Funding: The Agile BioFoundry is a consortium of U.S. National Laboratories funded by the Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). Operations are supported by federal appropriations, not commercial revenue generation.
2. Industry Partnership Collaborations: Collaborative research projects with industry partners, often co-funded by DOE research grants. Example: $250,000 DOE funding over 24 months for ZymoChem partnership on bio-adipic acid.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Agile BioFoundry is a consortium of U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories that provides collaborative research infrastructure and a Design-Build-Test-Learn platform for industrial biomanufacturing. It partners with industry and academia to accelerate the development of bio-based fuels, chemicals, and materials, offering capabilities spanning metabolic pathway design, genetic engineering, automated lab workflows, machine learning for pathway optimization, techno-economic/life-cycle assessment, host onboarding, and process scale-up via the ABPDU facility.

Product overview

Agile BioFoundry (ABF) is a consortium of U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories (including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Los Alamos National Laboratory) providing fee-for-service research infrastructure to accelerate biomanufacturing. ABF operates a Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) platform consisting of interconnected capabilities including Pathway Development and Evaluation, Genetic Tools, Automated Lab workflows (sample preparation, protein purification, enzyme assays), Experiment Data Depot, Targeted Metabolomics, Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Assessment, Host Onboarding, and Scale-Up support via the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU). ABF also provides Machine Learning tools for PKS design and pathway optimization. Rather than a commercial product company with packaged software, ABF functions as a public research infrastructure consortium offering industry and academic partners access to its capabilities on a collaborative or fee-for-service basis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) Platform
• Process Scale-Up Services
• Host Onboarding Service
• Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Assessment
• Licensable Technologies Portfolio

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction for bio-based adipic acid vs. fossil-derived
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• ZymoChemcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Partnership to accelerate research on bio-adipic acid for bio-nylon 6,6 production. The collaboration uses proteomics and machine learning to develop a microbial host for bio-adipic acid production. Backed by $250,000 in DOE research funding over 24 months, in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
• KiverdicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2025Development of genetic tools to improve engineering efficiency of Cupriavidus necator, a chemoautotrophic bacterium that converts carbon dioxide into valuable products. Kiverdi used these tools to engineer dodecanol production from CO2.
• seqWellsupportingTechnology or Integration · 12 March 2025Partnership to develop cost-effective, high-throughput workflows to accelerate strain engineering for biomanufacturing.
• EndurocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2023Validation study of Enduro Sense technology that sustains bioproduction over long periods. Demonstrated 600% production improvement at 300L scale using Bacillus subtilis. The technology uses biosensors to maintain highly productive cells in bioprocesses.
• UC BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple collaborations including high-throughput polyketide synthase engineering platform and PKS machine learning tools. Jay Keasling's lab at UC Berkeley co-leads PKS research with ABF.
• Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale-up facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory providing fermentation and bioprocess scale-up capabilities. Partnered with ABF and Enduro on validation studies.
• Oak Ridge National LaboratorysupportingTechnology or IntegrationKiverdi licensed Oak Ridge's SAGE tool (genome engineering) for use in Cupriavidus necator, in collaboration with ABF capabilities.
• TerragiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner represented at ABF 2026 Industry Day, sharing industry perspective on biomanufacturing commercialization.
• LanzaTechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner represented at ABF 2026 Industry Day, sharing industry perspective on biomanufacturing.
• VisolisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner represented at ABF 2026 Industry Day, sharing industry perspective on biomanufacturing.
• BioMADEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturing USA institute partner represented at ABF 2026 Industry Day, sharing industry ecosystem perspective.
• AzollaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company with founder Milan Hanacek participating as panelist at 2026 Industry Day Host Onboarding panel.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Twist Bioscience: Twist provides DNA synthesis and synthetic biology tools widely used in strain engineering workflows; the former ABF lead PI moved to Twist, indicating strong talent and technology adjacency to ABF's Build phase.

Direct peers

• Amyris: Amyris develops bio-based ingredients and products using engineered yeast strains, overlapping with ABF on metabolic engineering, bio-based chemical production, and partnerships with consumer goods companies.
• Culture Biosciences: Culture Biosciences offers contract bioprocess development and fermentation services with cloud-based monitoring, serving industrial biotech companies with scale-up and process optimization needs similar to ABF's DBTL and ABPDU scale-up capabilities.
• Codexis: Codexis engineers enzymes and biocatalysts for industrial chemistry applications, overlapping with ABF's enzyme expression/purification pipeline, PKS engineering platform, and bio-based chemical development focus.
• Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI): JBEI is a DOE-funded bioenergy research institute based at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, overlapping with ABF on synthetic biology, pathway engineering, and biofuels R&D, and co-located with the lead ABF lab.
• Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo operates a commercial synthetic biology foundry with a Design-Build-Test-Learn platform serving industrial biotech customers across fuels, chemicals, and materials, directly competing with ABF for industry partnerships and licensing revenue.

Broad incumbents

• Agilent Technologies: Agilent supplies analytical instruments (mass spectrometry, chromatography) used in bioprocess analytics and proteomics, and is a partner in ABF's ecosystem; broadly comparable as a major enabler of biomanufacturing R&D.
• BioMADE: BioMADE is a Manufacturing USA institute focused on biomanufacturing, with a similar mission of advancing U.S. industrial bioprocess capabilities and an overlapping partner ecosystem; ABF and BioMADE share panel presence at Industry Day events.

Emerging players

• Bota Bio: Bota Bio is an emerging synthetic biology company providing strain engineering and bioprocess scale-up services for bio-based products, competing with ABF for industrial biotech partnerships in specialty chemicals and materials.

Regional players

• LanzaTech: LanzaTech commercializes gas fermentation for fuels and chemicals from industrial off-gases, sharing ABF's bio-based chemicals/fuels thesis and presenting at ABF's Industry Day; comparable as a biomanufacturing commercialization-stage peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/agilebiofoundry
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQakgMo1pcNg9mwA7owOdyQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agilebiofoundry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Agile BioFoundry