SecureDNA Foundation

What SecureDNA Foundation does

SecureDNA Foundation is a Swiss nonprofit foundation (established 2019, organized under Article 80 et seqq. of the Swiss Civil Code, with legal seat in Zug and operational address in Basel) that provides free, privacy-preserving DNA synthesis screening to commercial providers, benchtop DNA synthesizer manufacturers, biofoundries, and academic core facilities worldwide. Its core technology uses Distributed Oblivious Pseudorandom Functions (DOPRF) so that neither SecureDNA nor any single server ever sees a customer's plaintext sequences; sequences are hashed, blinded, and screened against a centrally maintained hazards database under a novel Random Adversarial Threshold (RAT) algorithm and a patented reverse screening system that compares candidate subsequences against known innocuous genes to keep false positives effectively at zero. The product is delivered through a Synthclient REST API, a browser-based web interface, Docker and Linux packages, a system demo via GitHub Codespaces, and an embeddable client designed for benchtop devices.

The screening pipeline is validated at 99.999% block rate against functional evasion attempts and zero false positives over 67 million base pairs of real-world synthesis data. Supporting tooling includes an Exemption Certification System (PKI-based, two-factor authenticated cryptographic tokens for legitimate virology and biosecurity research), Verifiable Screening (cryptographically signed responses with SHA3-256 hashes and signature transparency logs for auditability), and a monthly NIST-coordinated Data Test Set of 1,000 blinded sequences for benchmarking. The foundation has no commercial revenue and charges nothing to providers; operations and academic teams at MIT, Tsinghua, Aarhus, Northeastern, Weizmann, and Shanghai Jiao Tong are funded by philanthropic grants from the Open Philanthropy Project and an anonymous Chinese philanthropist. The platform's verifiable-screening design lines up directly with the May 5, 2025 US Executive Order on Biological Research Safety, which mandates verifiable nucleic acid synthesis screening for federally funded research.

Name

SecureDNA Foundation

Legal name

SecureDNA Foundation

Website

https://securedna.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SecureDNA Foundation is a Swiss nonprofit foundation that provides free, privacy-preserving DNA synthesis screening to commercial providers, benchtop synthesizer manufacturers, biofoundries, and academic core facilities worldwide, funded by philanthropic grants and aligned with the 2025 US Executive Order on Biological Research Safety.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biosecurity software / DNA synthesis screening

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Library & Diversity Generation Platforms (display libraries, DNA-encoded libraries for biologics, variant libraries) (HLAAAIAL)

Keywords

• DNA synthesis screening
• Biosecurity software
• Privacy-preserving cryptography
• Nucleic acid screening
• Gene synthesis compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free DNA Synthesis Screening Service: Non-profit screening platform provided completely free to all DNA synthesis providers. Funded through donations from philanthropists in the United States, Europe, China, and elsewhere. No revenue is generated from the screening service itself.
2. Philanthropic Funding: SecureDNA is supported by Open Philanthropy Project to team members at MIT, Aarhus University, and Northeastern University, and by an anonymous Chinese philanthropist for donations to team members at Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SecureDNA Foundation provides a free, privacy-preserving DNA synthesis screening platform that allows DNA synthesis providers, benchtop synthesizer manufacturers, biofoundries, and academic core facilities to screen every synthesis order against a centralized hazards database. Screening is delivered via a REST API (synthclient), a web interface, Docker images, and embeddable firmware builds, and uses DOPRF cryptography and a RAT search algorithm to detect hazardous sequences down to 30 base pairs without exposing customer sequences. The platform is supported by an Exemption Certification System, a NIST-collaborative Data Test Set, and cryptographically verifiable screening records for regulatory compliance.

Product overview

SecureDNA Foundation provides a free, privacy-preserving DNA synthesis screening platform organized around its core synthclient screening engine. The platform consists of a screening API (with both basic and advanced documentation), a browser-based web interface, and a suite of command-line tools for certificate and token management (sdna-create-cert, sdna-create-token, sdna-sign-token, sdna-verify). Supporting the core screening are the Exemption Certification System (enabling authorized researchers to obtain cryptographic exemption tokens with two-factor authentication), a Verifiable Screening feature providing cryptographically signed audit records, and a Data Test Set developed in collaboration with NIST for evaluating screening performance. All screening uses a Distributed Oblivious Pseudorandom Function (DOPRF) cryptographic protocol to preserve customer data privacy while checking sequences against a centralized, continuously updated hazards database. The SecureDNA Hazards List documents all screened organisms and pathogens by region. The platform is available as Docker container images, native Linux packages (Debian/Ubuntu/Red Hat), and a GitHub Codespaces-based system demo.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Synthclient DNA Synthesis Screening Platform
• SecureDNA Web Interface
• Exemption Certification System
• SecureDNA System Demo (GitHub Codespaces)
• SecureDNA Data Test Set
• synthclient Docker Image (Embedded Distribution)

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero false positives in 67 million base pairs of real-world DNA synthesis testing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• MITcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019MIT team members (including Kevin Esvelt from Sculpting Evolution Group, MIT Media Lab) collaborated to build the system starting in 2019. MIT provides academic research support and biosecurity expertise. Professor Vinod Vaikuntanathan serves as chief cryptographer and advisor.
• Tsinghua UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDean Andrew Yao (Turing Award and Kyoto Prize winner) leads the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences. Professor Mingyu Gao leads the Innovative Data-centric Efficient Architecture Lab (IDEAL). Xiang Li is PhD candidate. Supported by anonymous Chinese philanthropist donation.
• Aarhus UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Ivan Damgård (co-inventor of Merkle-Damgård construction used in SHA-2 and MD5) and Professor Carsten Baum (Associate Professor in Cybersecurity) serve as cryptography advisors. Co-funded by Open Philanthropy.
• Northeastern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Daniel Wichs (Associate Professor of Computer Science) serves as academic advisor specializing in cryptography and information security. Co-funded by Open Philanthropy.
• Weizmann Institute of SciencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Adi Shamir (co-inventor of RSA algorithm and Feige-Fiat-Shamir identification scheme, inventor of differential cryptanalysis) serves as cryptography advisor.
• Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Yu Yu serves as cryptography advisor with special interests in pseudorandomness and leakage-resilient cryptography. Supported by anonymous Chinese philanthropist donation.
• DTU (Technical University of Denmark)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical University of Denmark collaborating on the worldwide research effort. Professor Carsten Baum affiliated with DTU Compute cybersecurity section.
• NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint effort with NIST on data test sets to help synthesis providers and stakeholders evaluate baseline sequence screening performance. Monthly test sets of blinded sequences provided.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• GenScript: Global gene synthesis and biologics services provider with its own sequence-screening protocol for customer orders. Comparable as a large incumbent operating internal screening that overlaps with SecureDNA's target customer workflow.
• Twist Bioscience: Large commercial DNA synthesis provider with its own internal biosecurity screening pipeline. Operates in the same DNA synthesis screening space but as part of a much broader synthetic biology and genomics portfolio rather than as a screening specialist.
• Eurofins Genomics: Large European genomics services provider offering DNA synthesis with internal screening and compliance workflows. Comparable as an incumbent European synthesis provider that could integrate SecureDNA's screening across its production lines.
• Aldevron: Provider of nucleic acid, protein, and antibody manufacturing services for research and clinical use, with internal biosecurity controls. Comparable as an incumbent nucleic acid synthesis services customer for SecureDNA's screening platform.
• Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT, Danaher): Major oligo and gene synthesis provider under Danaher with established screening practices for hazardous sequences. Comparable as an incumbent synthesis customer for SecureDNA and a competitor within its own screening capabilities.

Emerging players

• Telesis Bio (formerly Codex DNA): Provider of benchtop DNA synthesis platforms and synthetic biology workflow tools. Comparable as a potential embedded screening customer and as a competing provider of integrated benchtop synthesis with proprietary workflows.
• DNA Script: Developer of benchtop enzymatic DNA synthesizers. Directly comparable as a potential OEM partner that could embed SecureDNA's screening into benchtop hardware, the specific channel SecureDNA has earmarked for embedded deployment.

Direct peers

• International Gene Synthesis Consortium (IGSC): Industry consortium that defines voluntary sequence-screening standards and runs the largest existing screening framework for gene synthesis providers. Direct functional peer to SecureDNA's screening service, though IGSC's screening model is not privacy-preserving and not free of charge.

Regional players

• Synbio Technologies: Gene synthesis provider with operations centered in China and the US, running its own sequence screening. Comparable as a regional synthesis provider in SecureDNA's target adoption footprint and a partner/contributor for Chinese-language hazard coverage.

Others

• SecureBio: Sister biosecurity nonprofit whose Executive Director sits on the SecureDNA Foundation Council. Comparable as a closely aligned mission-driven organization in pandemic prevention biosecurity, though focused on policy and forecasting rather than synthesis screening technology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/SecureDNA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/securedna-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about SecureDNA Foundation