iGEM ABOA

What iGEM ABOA does

iGEM ABOA is a Finnish student-led non-profit organization (legally Aboa Turku ry, registered in Finland in January 2022) that fields an annual team in the international iGEM synthetic biology competition. The team recruits 8–16 multidisciplinary students each year from University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku University of Applied Sciences, and Tampere universities, with Associate Professor Pauli Kallio from the University of Turku's Department of Life Technologies serving as the long-standing Primary Investigator and mentor. Operations are organized through sub-teams covering laboratory work, coding, human practices, graphic design, and fundraising, and the team is governed by an annually elected 9-member student board.

Each year produces a distinct proof-of-concept synthetic biology project addressing a real-world problem. Recent projects include VeriFied (2025, a bioluminescent enzyme-fragment-complementation assay for forensic bloodstain age determination, Gold Medal), AstroVita (2024, engineered microbes producing vitamins for astronaut nutrition, Gold Medal plus Best Education Award nomination), MercuLess (2023, cyanobacteria engineered to convert methylmercury to elemental mercury, Silver Medal), CropFold (2022, cell-free bacterial system for early plant pathogen detection), and The Lac Case (2021, laccase-expressing microbes for diclofenac detoxification in Baltic Sea wastewater, Silver Medal plus Best Inclusivity nomination). The team also develops educational materials, podcasts, and games for science outreach, reaching over 300 attendees at 2024 events, and organized the Nordic iGEM Conference (NiC) 2024.

ABOA does not sell commercial products or services. It is funded through corporate sponsorships, grants, and student-led fundraising, with stakeholder consultations from organizations such as NASA, Solar Foods, Enifer, Heureka Science Center, and Turku Main Library supporting individual projects. Distribution is effectively the annual iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris and open wiki documentation; the association has no patents, trademarks, or paying customers, and operates as a competition team and science-communication platform rather than a commercial venture.

Name

iGEM ABOA

Legal name

Aboa Turku ry

Website

https://aboaturku.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

iGEM ABOA (Aboa Turku ry) is a Finnish student-led non-profit that fields an annual multidisciplinary team from Turku and Tampere universities to compete in the global iGEM synthetic biology competition, producing proof-of-concept projects and science outreach activities funded by sponsorships and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Turku

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship and Grants: ABOA is a student-led project responsible for fundraising to finance the project. The team applies for grants, seeks corporate sponsors, and conducts fundraising activities. The association Aboa Turku ry was established specifically to enable the team's participation in iGEM and to promote synthetic biology research.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Aboa Turku ry (iGEM ABOA) is a student-led registered non-profit association based in Turku, Finland, that annually fields a multidisciplinary team of students from multiple Finnish universities to compete in the global iGEM synthetic biology competition. Each year the team develops a novel synthetic biology proof-of-concept project addressing real-world problems (e.g., forensic science, space nutrition, environmental remediation, plant pathogen detection, pharmaceutical waste detoxification), producing wiki documentation, presentation videos, and educational outreach materials.

Product overview

iGEM ABOA (Aboa Turku) is a student organization that competes annually in the iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) global synthetic biology competition. The organization does not offer commercial products or services; instead, each year a team of students develops synthetic biology research projects. The team operates through sub-teams focused on laboratory work, coding, human practices, graphic design, and fundraising. Each year's project is a distinct research initiative addressing real-world problems through synthetic biology solutions. Past projects include VeriFied (forensic bloodstain age determination), AstroVita (space nutrition via engineered microbes), MercuLess (mercury bioremediation), CropFold (plant pathogen detection), and The Lac Case (pharmaceutical waste detoxification).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VeriFied A portable, rapid forensic test that determines the age of bloodstains at crime scenes using an enzyme fragment complementation assay producing a bioluminescence signal to measure oxidized human serum albumin levels, which increase over time as bloodstains are exposed to air. Developed as the 2025 iGEM competition project and awarded a Gold Medal.
• AstroVita A synthetic biology project focusing on genetically engineering microbes to produce essential vitamins for astronauts, enabling nutrient-rich food production in isolated space environments to support long-term space missions. Developed as the 2024 iGEM competition project and awarded a Gold Medal with Best Education Award nomination.
• MercuLess A synthetic biology project enhancing the natural ability of Synechocystis cyanobacteria to convert toxic methylmercury into less harmful elemental mercury for environmental remediation. Developed as the 2023 iGEM competition project and awarded a Silver Medal.
• CropFold An easy on-site bioassay system for farmers to detect various plant pathogens before visible signs of infection occur, utilizing cell-free bacterial protein expression technology for enhanced biosafety. Developed as the 2022 iGEM competition project.
• The Lac Case A project aiming to detoxify diclofenac pharmaceutical waste in Baltic Sea wastewater using engineered microbes expressing catalytic laccase enzymes. Developed as the 2021 iGEM competition project and awarded a Silver Medal with Best Inclusivity nomination.

Quantifiable outcome

• Gold medal achievement at iGEM competition in 2024 and 2025 (first time in team history)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Heureka Science CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborated for science outreach workshops as part of the Human Practices component. Heureka is a Finnish science center that helps make science accessible to the public.
• Turku Main LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborated on interactive events to make synthetic biology visible and exciting. Library events provided accessible science communication opportunities to the general public.
• NASAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Consulted during the AstroVita project (2024) for space-related expertise. NASA was one of several organizations consulted regarding life support systems and space exploration nutrition requirements.
• Solar FoodsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Consulted during the AstroVita project for expertise on microbial food production. One of the organizations providing insights on cellular agriculture applications in space environments.
• EniferminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Consulted during the AstroVita project for bioprocess and fermentation expertise related to microbial food production systems.
• University of TurkucoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Primary academic institution providing faculty mentorship through Associate Professor Pauli Kallio as PI/mentor. Students from University of Turku form the core team, with the Department of Life Technologies, Faculty of Technology supporting the project.
• Åbo Akademi UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner university contributing students to the ABOA team. Part of the multi-university collaboration that enables diverse student participation across Finnish higher education institutions.
• Turku University of Applied SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner university contributing students to the ABOA team. Multi-university approach ensures diverse academic backgrounds and perspectives in project development.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Imperial College London iGEM: Long-running UK iGEM team. Directly comparable as a student-led university iGEM team building an annual multidisciplinary synbio project to compete at the Grand Jamboree.
• TU Delft iGEM Team: One of the most decorated European iGEM teams. Directly comparable as a multidisciplinary student-led iGEM team producing a single annual synbio project across wet lab, dry lab, and human practices.
• ETH Zurich iGEM: Top-tier European iGEM team. Comparable to ABOA in scale and as a multidisciplinary university team competing at the Grand Jamboree with proof-of-concept synbio projects each year.
• Wageningen University iGEM: Dutch iGEM team from Wageningen. Directly comparable to ABOA's environmental/agriculture-focused projects (e.g., MercuLess, CropFold) given Wageningen's food and environmental sciences strength.
• MIT iGEM: The originator of the iGEM competition at MIT. Directly comparable as a university iGEM team and the institutional anchor for the entire competition in which ABOA participates.
• University of Cambridge iGEM: Annual iGEM entry from Cambridge. Directly comparable as a high-performing European university team producing yearly synbio projects combining wet lab, modelling, and human-practices workstreams.
• Aalto-Helsinki iGEM Team: Another Finnish student team competing annually in iGEM. Directly comparable in that both are multi-university Finnish student-led synbio teams working on a new proof-of-concept project each year to compete at the Grand Jamboree.

Emerging players

• Solar Foods: Finnish cellular agriculture company developing food from microbes and CO2. Comparable because ABOA consulted Solar Foods during the AstroVita space-nutrition project and both work at the interface of microbial engineering and nutrition.
• Enifer: Finnish biotech specializing in microbial protein production via fermentation. Comparable because Enifer was a consulted partner for the AstroVita project and operates in the same microbial bioprocess space ABOA explored.

Broad incumbents

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Large US synthetic biology platform company engineering microbes across many application areas. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating across the same application domains (environment, food, industrial biotech) that ABOA's projects address each year.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/teamaboa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/igem-aboa
• Instagraminstagram.com/igem.aboa/?utm_medium=copy_link
• TikTokvm.tiktok.com/ZMLnWa5st

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about iGEM ABOA