What Sooam Biotech does

Sooam Biotech Research Foundation is a Seoul-based, non-profit research foundation founded in 2006 that operates the world's only commercial dog cloning service. The foundation's core technology is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), with extensions into Interspecies SCNT (iSCNT), embryonic stem cell derivation, and transgenic animal production. Sooam generated the first cloned dogs and the first interspecies Canidae clones (coyotes from domestic dog oocytes) and produced transgenic beagles for Alzheimer's research. Commercial revenue is generated primarily through one-off dog cloning services sold to private pet owners at approximately $60,000 per clone, with ancillary income from government and university research agreements (National 119 Rescue Service, Gyeonggi Province, Sungduk University, Rural Development Administration of Korea). The foundation maintains international research collaborations — most prominently a three-party Russia-China-Korea mammoth restoration program with North-Eastern Federal University and BGI — and operates an internship pipeline for international students. It is led by Dr. Hwang Woo-suk, founder and CTO, who pioneered SCNT-derived human embryonic stem cell lines (Sooam-hES-1, registered with the Korea National Stem Cell Bank in 2016).

The foundation's go-to-market is sales-led and direct: private clients and institutional partners engage Sooam directly to provide somatic cell samples, which are processed into clones at the Seoul Guro-gu headquarters (a facility roughly ten times larger than the original Yongin site following the late-2011 relocation). Distribution is global for pet-owner services and concentrated in Korea, Russia, and China for research collaborations. The foundation monetizes through pay-as-you-go cloning fees, government research contracts, and international consortium participation, and protects its position through patents granted in Korea, the EU, Canada, and New Zealand covering dog cloning efficiency and embryonic stem cell methodologies. Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the company website; the $60,000 per dog figure is sourced from a 2014 Channel 4 UK documentary. Marketing and demand generation have historically run through earned media — TLC/Discovery's "I Cloned My Pet" (2012), National Geographic's "Mammoth: Back from the Dead" (2013), and Vanity Fair (2018) — rather than paid acquisition.

The business model is unusual for a biotechnology organization: as a non-profit foundation with 1-10 employees, Sooam combines commercial pet-cloning revenue with grant-funded research and international collaboration, channeling proceeds into ambitious long-horizon programs (mammoth restoration, human stem cell characterization) that have no near-term commercialization pathway. This structure limits scalability but preserves scientific independence, and concentrates execution risk on a small leadership team.

Name

Sooam Biotech

Legal name

Sooam Biotech Research Foundation

Website

https://en.sooam.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sooam Biotech Research Foundation is a Seoul-based non-profit research organization that operates the world's only commercial dog cloning service using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), serving private pet owners at roughly $60,000 per clone alongside government and university research contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animal Cloning Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloning & Advanced Reproductive Technologies Services (AFAEAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cryopreservation, Biobanking & Cell Banking (Cord/Adipose/MSC) (HLAMANAJ), K9 Breeding, Procurement & Deployment Services (BPAKAKAL)

Keywords

• Animal cloning services
• Somatic cell nuclear transfer
• Dog cloning
• Embryonic stem cell lines
• Wildlife de-extinction research

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dog Cloning Services: Commercial dog cloning service for private pet owners. Clients provide somatic cells from their pets which are used to create clones.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sooam Biotech Research Foundation provides commercial dog cloning services using proprietary Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) technology, priced at approximately $60,000 USD per dog, where clients provide somatic cells from their pets to create genetic copies. The foundation also conducts embryonic stem cell line research (SCNT-1), interspecies cloning (coyotes via domestic dog eggs), transgenic animal production, and woolly mammoth restoration research in collaboration with international partners.

Product overview

Sooam Biotech Research Foundation (Sooam BRF) is a biotechnology research organization specializing in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) cloning technology. The company offers dog cloning services as its primary commercial offering, along with embryonic stem cell line development, endangered species cloning research, and interspecies cloning technology development. The organization operates as a research foundation with technology transfer and training components, providing its cloning expertise through collaborations with international research institutions. Sooam BRF's core technology involves SCNT-based animal cloning, with applications across dog cloning, endangered species preservation, and the ambitious mammoth restoration project conducted with international partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Dog Cloning Service Commercial dog cloning service for private pet owners globally, where clients provide somatic cells from their pet to generate a genetic copy using Sooam's proprietary canine Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) technology.
• Interspecies SCNT Cloning Service (Canidae) Interspecies Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (iSCNT) cloning using domestic dog eggs to clone coyotes (and related Canidae), delivered to government and conservation partners for endangered species preservation and wild animal rescue programs.
• SCNT-1 / Sooam-hES-1 Embryonic Stem Cell Line Patient-specific human embryonic stem cell line derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), developed and established by Dr. Hwang Woo-suk; registered with the Korean National Stem Cell Bank and protected by patents in Korea, EU, Canada, and New Zealand.
• Transgenic Animal Production Production of transgenic animals for biomedical research and biopharma applications, including transgenic beagles for Alzheimer's disease research delivered to research partners and a transgenic cow for interferon production delivered under a national R&D project with the Rural Development Administration of Korea.

Quantifiable outcome

• First successful dog cloning in the world
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National 119 Rescue ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 December 2012MOU signed for preserving excellent pedigree rescue dogs by SCNT cloning technology. Sooam contributed two cloned rescue dogs named Raccoons to be trained as working rescue dogs.
• North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU), RussiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2012Korea-Russia research collaboration agreement for mammoth restoration. NEFU provides biological samples from mammoth remains found in Sakha Republic, Russia. Sooam provides cloning technology expertise. Joint establishment of mobile laboratory at NEFU campus for mammoth sample research. Russian scientists trained at Sooam's Korea facility.
• Sungduk UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2011Five Jurorong clones delivered to Sungduk University for use as research dogs. Adoption ceremony held at Sooam.
• Gyeonggi ProvincecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2011Research agreement for collaborative research on endangered species cloning. Sooam authorized to obtain somatic cells from endangered species and deliver cloned endangered animals.
• Rural Development Administration of KoreaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2011National R&D project agreement for delivery of transgenic cow for production of interferon.
• China National Genebank (BGI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-party research collaboration between Korea, China and Russia for mammoth restoration. BGI, Sooam, and North-Eastern Federal University collaborate to retrieve and research mammoth samples for understanding their genomics and potentially cloning a live mammoth from a surrogate elephant.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Trans Ova Genetics: US livestock reproductive technology company offering cloning, IVF, and embryo transfer for cattle and other species. Comparable SCNT platform applied to a different (livestock) end market — broader agricultural incumbent.
• Revivicor: US regenerative medicine company using SCNT-derived genetically modified pigs for xenotransplantation. Comparable in using SCNT as a production platform for biological products, though targeting therapeutics rather than companion animals.
• Roslin Institute: University of Edinburgh research institute that created Dolly the sheep and pioneered mammalian SCNT. A scientific peer and historical reference point; broader biotech/transgenic animal research portfolio rather than commercial cloning services.

Direct peers

• My Friend Again: Spain-based pet cloning service that has partnered with Sooam-era technology. Comparable business model offering dog and cat cloning to European consumers at premium prices, competing for the same international pet-owner demand.
• Sinogene: Beijing-based pet cloning company offering commercial dog and cat cloning services, Sooam's most direct global competitor. Uses similar SCNT methodology and serves overlapping private-pet-owner customer segments across Asia.
• ViaGen Pets: US-based pet genetic preservation and cloning service (horses, dogs, cats). Directly comparable commercial model to Sooam's dog cloning service, serving North American private pet owners and elite breeding programs.

Emerging players

• Clonaid: Controversial human and animal cloning company. While human-focused in claims, it operates in the same cloning-services category and competes for media attention and fringe-market pet-owner demand.
• eGenesis: US biotech applying gene editing and reproductive technology to xenotransplantation. Uses overlapping embryology/SCNT-adjacent capabilities for organ transplant rather than pet cloning, but is a scientific peer in advanced reproductive biotechnology.
• PerPETuate: US-based pet genetic preservation company that stores somatic cells from pets for future cloning. Adjacent to Sooam's service — overlaps on the front-end (cell preservation) but focuses on storage rather than active cloning.

Others

• BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute): Active collaboration partner on Sooam's mammoth restoration project. Genomics sequencing peer and ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor; comparable in scale and scientific ambition within Asian biotech.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sooambiotech
• Facebookfacebook.com/sooambiotech

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Sooam Biotech